Add These Simple Menu Items to Increase Sales at Your Hot Dog Cart.
Hi Steve,
I would be interested in what items your slingers have added to their menu or cart sales in general that have increased their overall sales.
I’m looking for something that will attract customers aside from hot dogs, sausage and soda, perhaps something else to sell. I have thought of popcorn, peanuts, even ice cream!
-Rick
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Hey Rick,
Wow, the number of items is really endless, as long as you can get health department approval.
One of the highest profit margin items is nachos. Put some chips in a cardboard boat and top with melted cheese. Free jalapenos optional. Have a chili upsell. A lot of people will take it.
Walking tacos are also popular. Open a bag of Fritos or Doritos (I crush them a little first) and add cheese, chili, jalapenos, and any other Mexican style condiments that you have on the cart. Serve with a plastic fork. Delicious.
How about it Slinger? What have you seen on a hot dog cart besides hot dogs? Let’s hear it in the comments!
-Steve
Cookies, lollipops and candy! Kids have a way of begging their parents and winning! Plus, anything that costs a dollar goes free with the daily special!
Yes! Don’t forget about the kids. Makes a big impression on the parents, and the kids will beg to go to the cart again and again.
Don’t have a cart, yet, but I am a hotdog cart wannabe 🙂 I have seen ‘walking frito pie’ at fairs and such. Same concept as the ‘walking taco’. Bag of Fritos opened and topped with chili, cheese and (optional) onions. All stuff you would probably have on the cart anyway.
Hi Monica! Welcome. You are right on – frito pie is another name for it. Carnival food rocks!
Hey Steve – I am a big lover of nachos. 🙂 Where are you buying your cheese, what brand do you like? Also, do you just put it in a steam pan? and put a ladle in it?
Thanks for all you do,
Lisa
Me too Lisa! Sams Club sells a gallon can of cheese in two flavors. I put it in clear squeeze bottles and keep it in my steamer. You can use a steam pan but be sure it is in a steam table and not over direct heat or you’ll end up with a burnt mess.
Hi Steve. Being south of the border our health dept. is very limited. To them a 5 gallon bucket with water is good enough. On the rare occasions I leave my stand and take out my cart. I also include a pan of sweet corn for corn in the cup. Everything else you said above sells very good down here they seem to like wolf brand chili the best.
Interesting. I used to live on the border in Texas when I was a kid. Back and forth we would go pretty much every weekend to Ciudad Juarez. That was before the drug wars.
Where are you Larry?
Pickles!!!
Individual pkgd pickles from Freestone Pickle Co. Cost 92cents landed, retail $1.75
Other than that, my attraction is brand name meat and condiments;
Nathan’s and BoarsHead meat (in addition to Oscar Meyer)
BoarsHead sauerkraut
BoarsHead Red Onion Sause
BoarsHead deli mustard
Thick and meaty chili (not watered down)
fresh buns every day
Quality brings me quality customers!
If someone wants a one-dollar hotdog, I have no problem pointing the way in two directions (in a polite way) to a cheap dog
Boars Head is an excellent company. Good stuff!
“If someone wants a one-dollar hotdog, I have no problem pointing the way in two directions (in a polite way) to a cheap dog.” LOL! Right on Mike!!!
I tell people we don’t serve those dog, we only sell great ones !!!
Arrrr hart har harrr !!!!
1St Mate Jim.
Love it.
How about “uncrustables” for the kids. It is a crust less peanut butter and jelly sandwich, premade and prepackaged.
Try it, might work. Just be aware a lot of people have peanut allergies and won’t go anywhere near your cart if you have peanut products.
I was just talking about this with my niece. we were talking about offering large Kosher pickles on a stick. The 3 girls were listening to the conversation all of a sudden the youngest about 5, went pickles on a stick, mommy I want a pickle on a stick. I think we have a winner.
Kids love pickles so much that they will eat them until they get sick. I’ve personally seen it happen, lol!
Do taco in a bag and use a steamer for ground beef. Get small taco bags 50 in box from sams club and sell for 6.00. People will not complain about that price.
Hang them from an u nmrella or run a string and clothes hangers. Hope that helps.
People seeing them hang are attracted and takes up no extra space
Great tip William!
I just introduced the Pizza Dog. I put the bun in a nacho boat, then dog and line both sides of dog with small pepperoni slices cover dog with pizza sauce and put shredded cheese on top…then I bring out a mini cooks torch and melt the cheese. The little show alone sells the dog at4.00 each. I sold 51 in two hours first night….
Pizza Dog. Yum!
Steve. Im in Nuevo Laredo. Going on 32 years now
Newbie. Owned a hamburger stand. Very profitable! and fun. Always wanted a pull along hotdog stand. Looking
Welcome aboard Susan! You are in the right place for sure. My Slingers as I call them are the greatest bunch. Full of knowledge and glad to help beginners.
Let me know how I can help you!
My cart is an old pop up camper so it affords alot more room, I try to buy only one more thing to make another item. Adding nacho chips and Doritos are excellent ways I make my menu bigger. Try some kind of queue dip, or pulled pork on a bun, adding ground meat makes a cool looking hamburger. I also sell muffins and cake slices during special events, hang candy from ceiling, and of course fresh squeezed lemonade. Sweet tea sells good as does limeade.
Thanks Lamont. Send me some pics of your rig!
Pretzels I do not carry pretzels but 99 times out of a hundred when people ask for a pretzel and I do not have it the customer walks away. Having turkey dogs help me from time to time. I am including a jerk chicken hotdog just to try.
Hi Steve! Can you elaborate on the cheese in the clear bottles (i don’t want to have a hot mess by doing it wrong lol)
Also my extra cash tip that is working for me is to add a candy on the menu & draw a picture of it on my menu board (the kids who can’t even read yet are begging for it) recently it was a ring POP
Hi Dom,
Not much too it, just be sure that if your pan is over direct heat that you use a false bottom with a little water in the pan. Otherwise you risk melting the bottom of the bottle. Nice tip on the candy menu!
I can tell you people will not turn away from my walking tacos! It has all the traits people have to have Its a newer item, great taste, flavor, smell and not something you see on every hot dog cart! I will not tell my secret taco meat recipe,except to say its a combo of ten spices, and seasonings I worked for two years to perfect Its quite a show when I put the walking tacos out, something about the fritos and tasty spicy meat they have to have You will find this equal to your hot dog and bratwurst sales when you put it out Don’t be afraid to be creative when you make the taco meat, most people wont turn away spicy taco meat in a frito bag Go for it hot dog vendors!
Frito pies / walking tacos are a ez no brainer…I can’t count the many
100’s of times I’ve grubbed on frito pies at sports events and fairs and
festivals etc…
hey guys< i serve walking tacos fm my hot dog stand,health dept doesnt like it, any issues fm yr local official?
Hi Tim,
Every city is different as far as what the inspector will allow. My first question is this – did the inspector actually tell you to stop? Did he cite you with paperwork? Or did he just say that he wasn’t crazy about it? If you haven’t been officially warned, I would just keep on serving them until he tells me to stop.
You may need to give your inspector a standard operating procedure for your walking tacos. It’s just a piece of paper that tells how your walking tacos are made step by step. In the paper be sure to point out how and when you heat the beans. Prove that the beans go from the can to safe temperature (145 degrees or higher) in less than an hour and you should be good.