Author: Steve

Night Time Might Be the Right Time

most profitable hot dog cart locations

Hot dog vending at night outside bars and night clubs is an often overlooked way to make big money.  If you love the nightlife, you might want to consider it.

It’s a known fact that party people crave food like hot dogs.  And they’re willing to pay more for it.

But sometimes you have to be persistent…

Mark Balch owns a hot dog cart business in Keene, New Hampshire.  During the day he sells hot dogs on Main Street, but his ultimate plan is to set up in the bar district at night.  However, Keene city ordinances didn’t allow street vendors to stay open past 9 pm.  So Mark gathered support from his customers and petitioned city hall to amend the ordinance.

It looks like Mark got his wish.  The planning, licenses and development committee voted 5-0 to recommend the City Council allow hot dog vendors to sell their tubular treats downtown at selected spots between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m.

After hearing the decision, Mark was overjoyed.  He says the bar scene is very profitable.  “In three nights, it will be twice what I do in six days on Main Street.”

The City Council’s decision came just in time, as his wife was eight months pregnant with their fourth child at the time!

Congratulations Mark!

The moral of the story.  When someone tells you “no”, it doesn’t always mean that you can’t.  With the right support and polite persistence, it’s possible to set up a hot dog cart in places you never thought possible.  Go for it!!!

-Steve

Hot Dog Cart Capital? Chicago vs Toronto and the Great Ketchup Conspiracy

 

When one thinks of hot dog carts and street food, three cities come to mind.  New York, Chicago, and Toronto.  Granted there are the secondary venues like Miami, LA, and Charlotte, as well as the third tier towns which include rural localities such as Union, MO (my current home).  Before anyone starts taking offense, I’m not saying you can’t make good money selling hot dogs in Des Moines.  You can.  I’m just saying that no one thinks of Paducah, KY as hot dog central.

I just read a blog this morning which compared the hot dog culture of Chicago to that of Toronto.  Apparently Canadians are more subdued about their love of the tubesteak than those in the Windy City, even though Toronto may have more hot dog carts per capita.  I guess it’s just a function of the personalities of their inhabitants.  Being from Chicago, I can tell you that we aren’t very subdued about anything.  Especially the ketchup thing…

In case you haven’t heard, no one in Chicago is allowed to put ketchup on a hot dog unless they are under 12 years old.  This is actually an enforceable ordinance passed in 1975 by “Hizzoner, Da Mare”  Richard J. Daley, who once said, “The policeman isn’t there to create disorder; the policeman is there to preserve disorder.”  (I pause to wipe a homesick tear from my eye.)

Apparently it’s OK to put ketchup on a hot dog in Toronto…

Liberals.

– Steve

P.S.  Allright…I have an occasional ketchup dog every now and then.  So what?!!!  I don’t have a problem – I could stop whenever I want.  Really.

A Man Named Frank and his Hot Dog Cart Business

Frank's hot dog cart

New Yorker John Cox recently told the story of a man named Frank who, along with his faithful pooch, set up a hot dog cart on the corner in Queens where John grew up.  It was the 1960’s and Frank was the first to open a Sabrett’s Hot Dog push cart in the area.  Here is John’s description of this vivid memory from his youth.

“Before long he was doing a brisk business providing lunch to the many people who worked at garages, factories and warehouses along Broadway and nearby Northern Boulevard. And on weekends, before we drove off to visit one relative or another, my father would pull his car up behind Frank’s cart and each of us–my mother, brother and me–would get a dog and a soda. I don’t remember exactly how much it cost, but in those days it was our idea of dining out.”

John goes on to describe in detail something each of us knows well.  We all have extremely strong opinions on what constitutes the perfect hot dog.  Myself, being from Chicago, it’s not a hot dog until you drag it through the salad – and don’t forget the sport peppers and celery salt!  John grew up on the red onion sauce invented by Alan Geisler and says, “a dog without Mr. Geisler’s sauce is like bacon without eggs, ham without cheese, water without scotch whiskey. It does nothing for me.”

Water without scotch whiskey…ha!  Love it!  Reminds me of what W.C. Fields used to say about why he never drank water.  “Fish ____ in it”.  But I digress…

John continues.  “After a few years Frank was doing so well that during winter months he suspended business and, with his loyal canine friend, vacationed in Florida. But his return each spring was as welcome as the warm weather, green leaves on trees and baseball.”

Who else wants a business where you can make a year’s worth of money and still take the winter off?  If this sounds good to you, I can show you how to get started with hot dog carts.

Glass of water anyone?

– Steve

Can I Guarantee Your Success in the Hot Dog Biz?

How much money can you make with a hot dog cart?

I get some version of this email almost every week:

“Dear Steve, How can I be sure that I will be successful if I buy your stuff?  I’m afraid to take the first step.”

Sigh… Today I sat down and drafted a manifesto of sorts that I will use in all future replies.

Here it is:

Fear of the Unknown is Normal.
You are scared because you are going to attempt something that you’ve never done before.  You need to change the way you are thinking about this.  The enemy is in your head and I’m going to tell you how to beat him.  Pay attention.

Attitude is Everything.
You are approaching this with a “black and white” attitude and you think that you will either be a total success or that you will be a total failure.  Black and white thinking is just not logical.  When you start out, you will have small successes.  You will also have small failures.  A little of each every day.

For a while you may have more failures than successes.  That’s a good thing as long as you are smart and use them as learning opportunities.  After you screw something up, you should be really happy because now you know how NOT to do it.  I’m serious.  Welcome each failure, but fail fast, fix it, and keep moving forward.

You Already Know How to Learn.
When you were a baby you fell down whenever you tried to walk, and sometimes you went to the bathroom in your pants.  Falling down hurts a lot, the other thing not so much but it’s still unpleasant.  However, you knew that it was possible to walk and use the toilet because you saw others doing it.

I’m confident that you learned from these “failures” and that you haven’t repeated them in a long, long time.  This is proof positive that you are teachable.  That you CAN succeed.

You know that it’s possible to make a living selling hot dogs because you’ve seen others doing it, and they are no smarter than you.  They just went out and did it.  The cart manufacturers sell thousands upon thousands of new carts every year.  How could they do this year after year if there was no money in this business?  Word would have gotten out by now and the hot dog cart factories would have been forced to shut their doors.  Not so.

A Word to the Green Light People
There are some folks who won’t try anything new unless they feel that success is guaranteed.  The thought of failure paralyzes them in their tracks and they must have everything exactly right or they won’t even start.  We all know people like this.  They have been talking about the incredible business they are going to start someday for years.  But they never get it going because they are not sure about this one thing, or such and such isn’t exactly right.  I call these “green light people”.  Here’s why.

Imagine that you need to drive down a city street.  You can see 10 blocks ahead and each intersection has a traffic signal.  Green light people won’t put their foot on the gas until all 10 lights are green.  How often do you drive somewhere and get ALL green lights?  Not often.  When you come to a red light, you know that it will eventually turn green.  If it doesn’t, you simply turn right or left, find a different route, and reach your destination.

That’s how it is in business.  You can’t wait until all the lights are green because it just never happens.  You’ll eventually run out of gas while going nowhere.  The true key to success, the most important thing of all – is to ACT.

A  J.O.B  is Not Security – It’s Just Over Broke.
If you want to be “secure” (there’s really no such thing when you work for someone else), just do today what you did yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that.  You can then be certain that you’ll get what you got yesterday, and the day before, and the day before.

That is until your boss (or his boss) gets a wild hair up his ass one fine Monday morning and decides you aren’t necessary anymore.  Then you won’t even get what you got yesterday, which in most cases sucked anyway.

This isn’t Rocket Surgery.
Just ACT.  Take a small step toward your goal every day, observe the effects of your action, adjust for better results, and repeat.  All you need to do is get started.  Then…

One day not too long from now, you will wake up and realize that you have five carts out there all making money every day, and no one can ever fire you.  That’s true security.

Was getting there really easy?  No, not really.  Was it super hard?  No, not really.

Screw the red lights.

– Steve

P.S. Please, please share this on your Facebook by clicking the blue “Share” button. People need to hear this.

 

Veggie Dogs: Good For You, Good For Business

I just read a post from blogger Taylor at MAC & CHEESE, who related her delight in finding a hot dog cart on the streets of Charleston, SC that serves veggie dogs.  She was totally ecstatic. Seriously.

Listen up – here’s a tip worth thousands of dollars a year:  Vegetarians and vegans are passionate about their lifestyle and passionate customers are an absolute goldmine.  You will NEVER see more loyalty than when you tap into Continue reading “Veggie Dogs: Good For You, Good For Business”

Red Onion Sauce Inventor Alan Geisler Dies at 78

hot dog cart red onion sauce

If you are from New York, or have ever visited, you no doubt know about the “red onion sauce” that graces Sabrett hot dogs served from hot dog carts on the streets of the big apple.  This famous concoction used to be made independantly by each cart owner and the recipe varied from person to person.

That changed in 1964 when Gregory Papalexis, now the owner of the Sabrett brand approached Geisler to create a standardized version of the sauce, which is made from onions, olive oil, and tomato paste.  The condiment was a great success and the two men formed a company called Tremont Foods to distribute it under the brand names “Tremont Foods” and “House of Weenies”.

The sauce which is made in Brooklyn generates several million dollars a year in sales.

-Steve

original article at Daily Record

What to Serve With Hot Dogs…Red or White?

Let’s Be Frank serves grass fed beef hot dogs in some upscale spots, including Silver Lake Wine’s very popular Thursday night wine tastings.  Great idea, I’d have never thought of that.  There are a lot more places to make good money selling hot dogs besides the local Home Depot.  Let’s get creative folks – leave a comment about new and different locations for hot dog carts.  Let’s see what we can come up with…

-Steve

original article at Eating LA