Then you've used the wrong mustard.

Here in Chicago, it's a strongly held belief that ketchup does not belong on a hot dog.

Wow. Great job. Where did you finally relocate in Fl. ?(generally)

Glad to see your plan is coming together.:beer:

dar is right about ketchup on a hot dog. In Chicago, only children do that.




Merc,

I'm in Central, FL between Orlando and Gainesville. Bought a 3,000 square foot house cash for $70k, and I'm putting another $30k cash into fixing it up into a very nice place.

Between the house insurance and property taxes, I'll be paying less than 200 a month and I've got my own well so I don't have to pay for water.

Last year I paid off all my debts to credit cards, student loans, car payments, etc.

So now I have no rent or house payment, no credit card payments, no student loan payments, no car payments, etc. I could get by on pretty much nothing. My wife could support all 3 of us on the money she makes doing nails...which ain't much.

I figured this would give me a chance to make the hot dog biz work out well, but as luck would have it, I may have an IT job out here making the same money I made in Los Angeles. It's a swing shift job so I'll have the day time to run my cart. Even without the really good job, I'd be able to save a ton of money by just running the cart, but if I do both, I'll be one tired...and financially secure....man.

I'm still getting used to the weather. I've never sweat so much in my life.

That's because there's no room once you get all that other crap on there...

http://www.nightafternight.com/.a/6a...0bdd8833-800wi

There is way too much going on up there!

This is a hot dog. Plain. Simple. Perfect. No "smoky" or "red hot" or some german word implying it's either "beef-stuffed pork" or "pork-stuffed beef."

A touch of plain old yellow mustard OR some shredded cheddar (not melted) would be acceptable. :yum:

I will never write a book entitled "Adventures in Eating."

Got to have the occas chili as well.

Surely you will have some ketchup available for those of us children who like it? :D

Maybe in little foil packets, that he can grudgingly dig out of a drawer somewhere. :haha:
Along with the admonition to "grow up & get a job!"

Do y'all know how hard it is to find a proper hotdog (see: above) in Texas?!

How hard honey??? All you have to do is ask... every time I've managed to provide... ohhh I guess you me for everyone else in Texas... yes it is a sad thing... texas is not know for its hot dogs... chili dogs maybe, but that is another beast.

Personally, Im loving the horseradish and saurkraut dogs... mmmmm a spicy pungent kick in the nose..... for all you wasabi lovers out there trust me on this one... it is a similar kick and pretty damn tasty.

Of course. I'm not from Chicago or in Chicago. I sell what the people want.

Though I'm considering only having Coke products rather than both Coke & Pepsi.

i need to try that.


i have all of those ingredients.

Good lad. I hate it when there's only Pepsi products....

although we (summer outdoor pool) found that the best way for pop is to shop at the grocery stores when they have sales and just sell whatever they have cheap. better prices than contract or wholesale prices. For example this week you can get 60 cans of coke or pepsi for $11. So we stock up on that deal.

We always do our brats or sausage with kraut and a horseradish based mustard. I rarely eat a regular dog anymore. To whimpy.

But you could call it a "Lorena Bobbit". ;)

That's a hell of a deal, how is that packaged? 10 six packs? 5 twelve packs? 2 thirty can cubes?

If you go with the coke products, please carry Coke Zero in addition to (or instead of) Diet Coke. :sick:

YEAH! Pepsi sucks!

:rolleyes:

But really, it does.

Pay no attention to the Pie behind the curtain. Diet Coke is second only to coffee as a Drink of the Gods.

brand loyalties are weird. i'm starting some polls to delve deeper into this weirdness

All right Shaw, put up yer dukes! Diet Coke is teh suxxors!

I've had this fight with my brother already. He says DC makes him pee more. :lol:

Now I see where all of that came from.

Yes, they are weird. usually, we buy generic, whenever possible...I have an idea for a poll!

Out here right now it's 48 cokes (4 - 12 packs) for $10. This is still a pretty good deal. When you can get a can for under $.25, you're doing pretty well, especially when you're selling them for a buck.

I LOVE Coke Zero and pretty much dislike Diet Coke. I'll carry both because people will ask for both by name.

For me, it's not so much a brand loyalty as it is a taste loyalty. Pepsi is too sweet to me. It almost taste like medicine because it's kind of like syrup.

I just hope your cart can hold all this stuff.

I like those Mexican, cinnamony things, what are those called? Churros. Get some of those, too...thx.

Yknow what might go over, are muffins. But not the dumb store bought ones, they have to be good.

Don't you dare get those grocery store muffins, dude. Or I will ruin you. Oh, and here's another thing: fortune telling.

You're welcome.

And don't forget beads and trinkets. But be sure and tell them not to eat them.

No muffins. I'll try to make a deal with a local bakery for the buns. It'll probably be cheaper and better than regular buns from the grocery store. I want high quality buns though. Something that can compete with Wonder or Bunny buns.

I'll be selling 8/1 dogs, and 5/1 or 4/1 precooked brats and Italian sausages. I may consider 4/1 dogs too, but no footlongs. I'll use hoagie buns for the Sausage & Pepper sandwiches, and hot dog buns for brats & dogs.

I'll offer Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Orange Crush, Dr. Pepper, Sprite, Squirt, Barqs and possibly orange & lemon lime Gatorade (I live 20 minutes from where it was invented) and bottled water.

As far as chips go, I'd like to offer something better than Lays brands because people know they can buy a metric ton of them at Costco for nothing. I'd like to offer some quality chips like kettle chips, but I will also offer a variety of Doritos because they sell like crazy. I was thinking of offering Wise brands, but I'm not sure.

I have a feeling I'll sell a lot more drinks than dogs because of my location, but that's ok with me because the profit margin is higher.

Eventually I'll also offer hats, t-shirts, keychains, etc. with the mascot on it.

Solid drink selection although i would say you're missing Mountain Dew (i dont like it but i know some people who must have it in their blood). Do not get Dasani water, anything else will do better and if you want to go high end go fiji over evian.

Props on Squirt. Not enough people carry that and it is the only soda on that list i would drink.

Here in utah there are two chains that sell Herr's chips (from philidephia iirc) and every time i visit the restaurant every single person orders a bag of them with their sandwich (either in place of or in addition to fries). People who can't readily access Herrs chips will worship and buy them. My wife makes me buy a few extra bags when i go there to keep on hand.

Also can't go wrong with Tim's chips if you want kettle. They are the best imo. http://www.timschips.com

Gonna stock any candy bars?

Nottingham, PA, actually. Jim worked right down the street from the factory for a few weeks.
I keep meaning to take the kids on the tour and then I forget about it... I'm making a note now...

That's a great idea. I still remember the factory tour I took of a sardine cannery in Maine when I was a kid.

I'm pretty sure candybars would melt here...at least all the chocolate ones.

I could carry Munch bars or PayDay, but I might eat 'em all.

Good call on the Mountain Dew. On the chips, I've heard Cape Cod are the best kettle chips, but I'm willing to try anything. I was toying with carrying Red Bull or Monster, though I'll be across from the Social Security building so I don't know how popular, that product might be.

If'n you're keeping sodas cold, you can keep candy cold. :eyebrow:

Good point. I suppose I could put 'em in plastic bags in the coolers to keep them dry and cold.

Or sell those awesome ice cream Snickers bars. OMG those are so good.

have you thougth about any contests or promotions for your grand opening?
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/4013/freehotdog.jpg


also veggie dogs might not sell well but what about veggie corn dogs

You're gonna need a bigger cart. :haha:

amen:D

mmm this thread is making me hungry

How about filet mignon? Will you be carrying filet mignon? On a stick?

filet mignon or dog food

Hot dogs are dog food. Cats get hungry too ya know. Will you carry Whiskas?

sean connery wants haggis

:lol2:

Oh. Haggis. I loves me some haggis.

Y'know Radar, I always did wonder one thing about vendors, especially hot dog vendors. Since the dogs need to be cooked and ready, unless your planning is dead on, you are going to have leftovers every day. Guys who have food trucks with grills don't have as immediate a problem, since raw ingredients can be kept for more than one day.

Does this mean your family will be eating hot dogs every day for as long as you own the cart? Should we buy you a "1000 hot dog recipes" book?

Who needs a recipe book when you've got the Cellar?

What kind of installation art could you do with all those left-over sausages? Hmmmm......

The cart I really want does have a grill. It's easy to cook as you need 'em. Even with that, I'd cook a few ahead of time and keep them warm in a steam pan.

The key is not to cook too many at once. If at the end of the day I've got 5 extra dogs, I'll look for the next 5 people walking by and say...

"Hey, have you ever tried a Dante's Dog? Let me give you one...my treat. Because I know when you taste how great my dogs are, you'll be back and you'll bring a few friends."

Then I'll give a dog away for positive public relations and maybe to help a hungry homeless person.

Don't overlook the local stray dogs.

The Lord said "As you do unto the least of these, you do unto me".

I'm not particularly religious but that's one maxim I try to live by. Usually.

Mmmm. Delicious.

Thanks for that Kitsune. It's the Peter North of hot dog animated .gif images.

I can't believe I just went through this whole thread and there is not one photo of the cart. What?!?
Nor any mention of my "seventh level spicy dog".

This is so bullshit!! :)

Yeah... how 'bout some pics, dude? I can't wait.

there were photos in the very first post, but you're too late to the party and now they're just big red Xs.

Radar. I've got something I picked up at a stand in front of Lowes in Hattiesburg, ms. today. Black guy had a Swan dogs cart, and he had the BS down pat.
Scan later. See I don't hate ya. I had a chilli cheese dog w/onions, 3 bites, small I guess.
+ tax about 4 bucks.