06/06/2026
I've spent some time reading through the comments from yesterday, and I wanted to share a little more context about how Underground makes decisions.
Attached are screenshots from two of the slowest days in recorded Underground history.
Not average days.
Not bad days.
The two slowest days we've ever had.
What you'll notice is that even on those days, there are still spikes. There are still customers. There are still periods of activity. Even when sales are low, there's usually some sign that people are interacting with the trailer.
That's because sales are only one piece of the puzzle.
Underground uses an internal system called Projection. It tracks sales trends, website traffic, mobile ordering activity, fuel consumption,social media engagement, event attendance, and even observations from the field like people stopping by the trailer, looking at the menu, asking questions, or saying they'll come back later.
Yesterday wasn't unusual because sales were low.
Yesterday was unusual because there was almost no data at all.
During the two hours we were there, we had a free birthday drink order, one conversation about where our coffee comes from, and one smoothie sold right as we were packing up.
No menu browsing.
No "we'll be back."
No "I saw you on Facebook."
No groups stopping to look at the trailer.
Usually, even before we make sales, there are signs that people are interested in what we're offering. Yesterday we simply weren't seeing those signals.
Now, reading the comments afterward, it's entirely possible things would've changed later. It sounds like some families arrived after we left and were planning on grabbing milkshakes after dinner. Hearing that honestly makes me both happy and a little sad.
Happy because people wanted Underground.
Sad because we missed them.
But at 6:00 PM, I didn't know what would happen at 6:15 PM. I only knew what had happened between 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM.
Projection didn't tell me to close. It told me something wasn't behaving like a normal Underground event. The decision was still mine, and based on the information I had at the time, it was the decision that made the most sense.
That's the challenge of running a small business. Sometimes you're right. Sometimes you leave 15 minutes before the crowd arrives. 😭
Either way, we keep learning, we keep improving, and we keep showing up.
And judging by the comments, we apparently owe a lot of people milkshakes. ❤️🥤
One thing I've taken away from all of this is that many of you were planning to stop by later than I expected. That's valuable feedback, and it's something I'll definitely keep in mind as we evaluate future evening events.
