Holy Crap!!!
 

I just got an email from Quentin Tarantino's lawyer. Quentin has agreed to let me use the name "Reservoir Dogs" for the hot dog cart I want to open. The lawyer wants to limit my permission to one cart and to come back if the business expands later. Wow, that is awesome. I was pretty sure he'd turn me down and I was trying to decide whether "Liberty Dogs" or "Horn Dogs" would be best.

How cool is that?!?

that is pretty sweet dude. i hope it all works out for you.

Awesome news! Good luck! :)

I swear, I'm going to tell Quentin he gets a free dog whenever he comes by. I might even name one after him and put his favorite toppings on it. It would be cool if he put the cart in one of his movies.

Good for you, Radar! Thanks for letting us all know that amazing things can happen if only you try! May you sell many dogs and become the meanest dog on the block (never mind the reservoir)!

That's really cool. Good Luck with everything.

That's incredible. Good for you.

One thing though, you probably want to get an agreement somewhat more official than an e-mail. If you haven't already, get a lawyer to draw up a signed document. Just to protect yourself.

By the way, how did you find QT's attorney?

By God he's done it!!! Could you sell dogs in one of those suits? That would be awesome! Slick your hair back a little bit maybe? :yelgreedy

The lawyer will be writing up an official letter, or a contract so I'll have a copy. Hopefully QT will sign it himself. And I got in touch with his lawyer through his publicist, which was listed on his production company's website.

Thank you all for your positive comments.

The suit idea is pretty good, but I don't think I could do it in the summer. A black suit in the L.A. sun is harsh.

I am not a lawyer, but in my business classes in college there is this thing called "consideration" which is required to make any contract enforceable. In other words you must give up something. Look for it in your contract and if it isn't there, offer one dollar. That is enough.

I want out-of-state franchise rights. :)

That is pretty cool of QT - its easy to say no these days.

Good luck. Where (in LA) are you going to put the cart, btw?

That's awesome. You're gonna have to let us know where and when you set up shop. Congratulations, Radar.

Here's the actual text from the email I got. And I will make sure I give him a dollar for "consideration". Thanks for the advice.

For vegetarians you could offer "Ears" of corn.

Kick ass.

Outstanding, Radar. Simply outstanding. I hope you become *the* dog vendor in LaLaLand.

That is just COOL.

Best wishes and success, radar.

good luck with that...

Amazing! :cool:

Sweeeeeeet!!! That's the coolest thing i've heard in ages! Good luck with it all!!

Awesome! Tarantino gets big points for this.

Let us know where and when you get set up.

You're on your way, Man. :thumbsup:
Oh, and if a customer is wearing a political pin, don't be the Dog Nazi.... "No dog for YOU!"

You mean like, "Who did you vote for? Bush. No Dog You!!!". Don't worry, all money spends the same to me.

I really think you should go with the suit idea. Summerweight is do-able, hopefully. Just keep well hydrated.

That is SO awesome. I'd be combing QT movies for anyone eating hot dogs, note the toppings and offer those as well. Just a thought. :)

How about an active cooling vest?

http://www.2bcool.com/products.htm

The Isopro™ Portable Personal Cooling System (PCS) is an ideal solution for long-term cooling duration. A Flexitherm™ head/vest garment is worn and plugged into the cooling source. An AC power adaptor or "D" size batteries powers the PCS. By adding water and ice the PCS is ready to go and can be easily adjusted to provide an effective and comfortable range of temperatures.

The PCS is portable, easy to operate and has been used in a variety of environments. Individuals exposed to harsh, warm environments face many potential health risks. The Isopro™ PCS has been clinically tested and proven highly effective at keeping individuals cooler longer and reducing physical and mental fatigue due to heat stress. Some examples of users have been military personnel, nuclear power stations, bomb and HAZMAT disposal teams, and professional racecar drivers. LET's technology has also out performed competitors in the medical industry. Patients with multiple sclerosis, peripheral neuropathy, hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia, and other heat related illnesses have found noticeable heat relief through the use of the PCS.

That's great news, Radar, I'm happy for ya!

Another sign idea I just threw together quickly to see what it'd look like. It's from the DVD cover I have.

Via Pulp Fiction there most certainly should be some sort of "Royale with Cheese". And if you can find a milkshake beverage of some sort, you have to charge $5 for it.

radar, you gotta tell me where in LA. I'l pick up Marichiko in my stretch hummer limo and drive out for a dog.

-sm

congrats radar! that's great news, i'll bet Tarantino will use that cart, along with yourself, in a movie sometime. that would fit in with his insinuations in movies to his other flicks (i.e. in dogs and fiction they both smoked red apples). we may not always agree but i wish you great success! - fred

You'll be a hit in Cali! I'll have my people get together with your people and eat dogs for lunch! Maybe we can come up with a new line of dog houses - Ocean views, priced in the lower $900,000's. Think it over. Good luck!

Hey I wanted to get your guys opinion. I'm considering 2 different hot dog carts. One has more capacity, but it may be a little too large. I'm not sure I'll even need that kind of capacity. But the bigger one has a water pump, etc.

Please check these out to let me know what you think.

The Gold Model

or

The California Model

california model. yeah, the california model.....it's just that much harder to come up with the extra $$. i know. i've been a broke sumbiatch since my divorce! well, spending the extra $ on airplanes kinda doesn't help either! :D

Both are veritable palaces of outdoor convenience dining.

But yeah. California model.

I mean, hey, you're IN California. What could be better??

With the extra size, you'll be in good position in case things really take off for you ... won't have to upgrade early on.

Question: Are these things available used? This would only be a consideration if they would be in damn near pristine condition though ... don't want anybody's old beat up cart, of course.

I was afraid you were going to say the California model. It's almost $2,000 more and I want to get started ASAP. It will take me longer to get started if I go with the California. I was thinking of starting with the Gold, and if I do well I'd buy another cart for my wife to work with the money from the first cart. My wife is hot so if I put her in a bikini and parked her near the beach in the summer, she'd pull in more tip money than hot dog money. Is it wrong for me to pimp my wife that way? I mean the money is for both of us to prepare a future for ourselves and our children.

If you believe their numbers, they claim that "one person can serve 360 dogs per hour at an event" and that the Gold model has the "CAPACITY to boil 800 1/4lb hotdogs PER HOUR in TWO FULL 20" X 12" steam pans, or steam 400 1/4lb hotdogs per hour".

So, the Gold model can boil more than twice as many dogs than they suggest one person can serve at maximum, or steam 40 more dogs than they suggest one person can serve at maximum.

360 dogs per hour is 6 per minute or one every 10 seconds. the only way I can imagine this happening is if you had the ideal location, one nobody else had including other carts (for some reason), and even at that it would probably be during some sort of special rush, such as an event letting out or lunch hour.

Plus, the California is much heavier. This could lead to additional woes depending on what you're using to haul it. You may come to hate the fact that it's bigger and heavier as you don't need the whole thing to get the sales numbers you can manage.

If you get that ideal location and want to work the single cart as a two-person business -- with the wife bringing in the attention and you closing the deals -- then you can sell the first cart and upgradeto the big one. But you really must start with the smaller one.

toad's got a good point there....

edit: oh, and by all means, there's nothing wrong with having a "wife marketing strategy!" :cool:

Here here, go for the less expensive one, it looks pretty dang spiffy anyway. UT's math looks like it makes sense. No reason to spend the extra money if you don't need the extra stuff.

*edit: votes yes for pimping the wifely-type :thumbsup:

You are continuing to assume that you will be successful in getting your wife over here. I assume you are continuing to send her money ... she has sabotaged your getting her here already. She benefits more from continuing to do so.

P.S. ... I prefer "realist" to "pessimist." I would delight in being proved wrong about this.

I agree with undertoad. I was thinking it should be more than suitable for my needs, and if I'm selling more than that, I'll be happy to buy another cart and easily able to afford it.

The lady at the cart place sells dogs too. She said she and her husband sometimes setup a cart outside of a strip club and with the tips she gets (husband pimping her) they'll get $900 in a day. She said the big money is in having corporate parties.

She said she'll send out flyers to businesses with 250 employees or more to bring in the cart for "Employee Appreciation Day" and she'll charge $6 per person for 250 employees to have a jumbo dog, bag of chips, and a soda or a bottle water. That's $1,500. She said she sometimes does 3 in a day. You can also do birthday parties, etc.

You'll need to run a Tarantino related sound track----"Stuck in the Middle with You" featured.

regarding events... i talked to one dog hawker in phoenix and i was told that it is a pretty good business.
Example: Swimming pool stores have big events occassionally. it turns out it isn't their big marketing ploy - it's the hot dog guy's. he approaches the business and tells them that he wants to help them with their sales and his at the same time. he spends the time and money to print up fliers and plaster them all over, advertising a big open house at the pool store with free hot dogs, chips, pop, and balloons for the kids. the pool store receives free advertising, but they have to pay $XX per person that shows up over a certain number.

the guy said he has been doing it for years and makes a killing and the stores won't let any other cart guy near their property because this guy came to them with the idea. the pool company loves it, he loves it, the customers love it. everybody wins.

Gold model, but consider getting at least one of the add-on SS tables. You can never have too much customer convenience space in a rig like this.

Yesterday, I got my lunch from a grille palace on wheels...a full grille with single-well deep fryer, fridge, heat tray for the freshly cooked fries, cooled storage, all powered by a generator on the tongue of the enclosed trailer with walk-up window. There were several rigs of varying degrees of niceness, with this being the primo, parked along the street by the courthouse. You might look into that gig as well.

I was thinking of the Gold model with the add on condiment table, the removable tow bar, brake lights, vent for the propane area, bigger tires, and spare tire.

I've never heard of the deep fryer thing. I suppose that would be cool if I ever wanted to add french fries. Right now I just want to keep it simple and have high quality dogs (Hebrew Nationals), chips, and sodas at a reasonable price in a crowded area.

May I also recommend a propane leak detector? Might save you from exploding the whole thing. Usually available at RV dealerships.

http://cellar.org/2004/skinless2.jpg

lileks today

I didn't know there was such an animal, but now that I do, it seems like a good idea to have one. I tend to frown on blowing into bits.

UT, I feel uncomfortable saying "skinless weiners". It brings all kinds of horrible images to mind. I'd rather just say hot dogs. ;)

If business starts to slack you could always try this...

January 11, 2005 -- Two Long Island women busted for allegedly turning their hot-dog truck into a hooker wagon

http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/38293.htm

But skinless wieners retain flavory juices and food values!

Huh. I just followed that link:

Quote:

I can understand why they wrote "lets" - all available extra apostrophes were diverted to wartime use, after all.

I'm pretty sure that no apostrophe is warranted, wartime or not.