You can try to have  hot dogs shipped in from another part of the country, something that is not in your local area. The problem is it will probably cost more to ship them which will raise the cost of your product.  You will most likely have to buy in bulk to get the cost down, that’s fine if you have the freezer space.

There is a better way: have your hot dogs made for you. Most places have a local butcher shop that will make hot dogs for you. Talk to the person in charge and have them make you a batch. I can guarantee they will be better than any store-bought and will be your own. At Bombdiggity Hot Dogs   we go through so many hot dogs we have a sausage company make ours. One of a kind and our brand. You can’t buy them at the store, and our customers love the one of a kind thing.

I know someone will say there is no butcher shop where they live. Ok so build up on the condiments. Do something different. Try something that doesn’t normally go on a hot dog and call it your own.

How much food should you buy? Well only what you can sell in a weeks time. This will take a bit of practice like anything else. There is no magic number, you will have to learn on your own.  The same holds true for your sides like chips, nachos, and sodas, only buy what you will sell in a weeks time or however many days you plan to work.

Next topic: The 3 most important factors for success: 1 Location 2 Location 3 Location

We are in the final stages of our interviews and will post the info here and at TrapperSherwood.com. These are great free audio interviews with successful hot dog-cart owners.

Let’s go back a step to the planning stage. You will need to check with your local heath dept. BEFORE you buy a hot dog-cart. I have seen numerous ads claiming that “Our cart will pass the toughest health dept. regulations.” My business is in California, a lot of what I see on the net will NOT pass code here in Ca. In fact some counties will not allow a steamer cart but will a griddle cart. Don’t ask me why it’s just the way it is.  This one step will save you money and a whole lot of grief.  Get your list of what is needed from the health dept. and then go to a reputable builder with the specs.

 Check out your local city laws to see if  food carts are legal. A lot of cities will not allow mobile food carts. From experience I can tell you that the county health dept. does not talk to the local city. So what may be legal in the county is not in the city or vice versa.

Ok so now you have your cart and all is legal what about insurance? You need to buy some liability insurance to cover you in case someone says they ate your food and got sick. No insurance means you could lose a lot! Liability insurance is not expensive for one or two carts. You can probably pay for it on a monthly installment program also.  

Next post will be on the food aspect:  What do you start with and where to get it.

The most important point is to plan ahead. Ask questions like will the cart I am looking to buy pass local or county health department codes? Most local or city governments do not communicate with the health dept. So what may be ok in your city might not pass with the health dept.    

Most of what I see on the internet is “Buy this cart and in a few days you too can be your own boss making money by selling hot dogs!” It simply does not work that way.  Case and point: read this post about someone selling hot dog carts on eBay and not delivering.

caveat emptor  about anyone claiming to help you make it big in the hot dog-cart business.  I have spent the last 6 years building  my business  up to where even in December and January we are busy. It didn’t happen overnight and I didn’t get it from reading some internet “Hot Dog Book”.

New this year We have teamed up with trappersherwood.com  and will be doing a series of interviews with successful hot dog-cart owners so that you can get some awesome info for free. In fact if you have a question you would like to ask contact me and I  will make sure we put it in the interview.

Liz Vaccariello, the magazine’s editor-in-chief  picked out three of her magazine’s top food trends for 2011 that can already be seen in New York.

1. Gourmet airport food

“Food is comforting, and with all the hassles of flying these days, that is more important than ever,” Vaccariello explained.

“Also, airport dining is one last opportunity to get a taste of the town. The local chefs are finding out that this is their chance to leave either the first taste or last taste in New York City.

“The best chefs in the city are recognizing that people who travel tend to be people who care about food.

“Another part of the issue is that the food on planes is so bad and you have to pay for it now. So people want to eat before they get on the plane and they want to eat well,” she said.

2. Pies

 Vaccariello insists “Pies are really coming back into style,” she said, pointing out that even President Obama loves eating pie.

“We are seeing pies have their day in the sun because they are the ultimate comfort food. There is something so familiar about pie. In many ways, it can be a one-dish meal.

“Not only are restaurants serving pies on their regular menus, but you are seeing pie-specific places pop up,” she revealed.

3. Artisanal hot dogs

“There’s something so iconic about a hot dog from a cart in New York City, but that’s not what we are talking about here,” Vaccariello said.

“We are talking about fancy hot dogs with fancy toppings. We’ve already done this with pizza and burgers; 2011 is hot dog’s year to shine.

“They have a pickle dog with mayo and mustard and the salty taste mixed with the hot dog just puts you in heaven.

“It’s really what we put on top of the hot dog that’s starting to matter. You can really get creative with the flavours and textures,” she added.

Got an idea for a great hot dog topping? contact me and I will post it on my blog.

Thanks to DailyIndia.com for the info

The Better Business Bureau of Central Virginia says more than a dozen people have complained since August 2009 about a Barboursville company that goes by two names: “Virginia Hot Dog Cart Company” and “New World Hot Dog Cart. Co. “
The company allegedly offered two carts on eBay for $1,500 and $4,300, but never delivered them, says Tom Gallagher, president of the local BBB.

One complaint filed this month says a buyer sent the seller money through a wire transfer and was told the cart would arrive in about a month. It never arrived, but a contract did — saying the buyer had five days after date of purchase to cancel the contract. Unfortunately, it arrived a month too late.

After almost two months of being told that the cart was lost, that there was a new delivery system, that things were crazy because of the holidays AND that the cart would arrive next week — still no cart. And the owner refuses to return the money.

Gallagher says the BBB plans to contact state and federal authorities.

If you’re planning to make a big purchase from an online auction, officials usually recommend an escrow service, particularly for items over $500. The service receives the item from the seller before sending the payment.

EBay recommends Escrow.com, and warns consumers of many fraudulent escrow companies — so if a seller suggests another company, investigate that company first.

In addition, avoid paying for online auction purchases via wire transfers, which carry few to no fraud provisions compared to credit cards.

Thanks to Walletpop for this info

Young Parker from Virginia with the help of his dad has purchased his first hot dog-cart from money he saved up. Parker decided to go into the hot dog business as a way of paying for college. Right now he is awaiting permit approval, and will be out there selling hot dogs soon.

America's Youngest Hot Dog Vendor

Parker is also has a website for Peadawgs.

My hats off to Parker and his parents for instilling in him the work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit to make this happen.

A couple of months ago I wrote of a guy who had his Hot Dog Cart stolen, Frank Martucci owner of Fred’s Franks in Orangeburg, N.Y. Thugs stole his only means of supporting his family; his hot dog-cart. In the update  Mr. Martucci received a loaner cart from a business owner in his local community.

Today Fred Martucci celebrates the grand reopening of Fred’s Franks on Route 303, and the community who supported him through the last few difficult months.  Fred’s insurance company replaced his stolen trailer with a new one. 

“The trailer really is beautiful,” he said. “I was very blessed to find it, but I was also blessed to have all of this support from the people.”

Fred’s first hot dog-cart was  10 foot by 7 foot. His new trailer is 2 foot longer and has an extra umbrella to shield customers from the elements. The new shade of yellow makes him visible from a few hundred feet in any direction.

“People tell me it just pops out at them from a distance,” Martucci said.

Fred’s Franks has never had a grand opening so today is his grand re-opening.

Police are still looking for the criminals who stole the original Fred Franks hot dog-cart back in september, but at least Fred is back to his location and selling hot dogs. What a great ending and just in time for Christmas.

We do Hot dog Catering  in Southern California. Look us up sometime.

teddys haute-dog

Well just when you think you have heard it all… out of New York comes the $50.00 hot dog!  If you want to go try it bring your curiosity and wallet to the Roosevelt hotel’s Vander Bar and order the Teddy’s Haute Dog. Made from Kobe beef and is topped with foie gras shavings, balsamic onions  ”accessorized” with black truffle fries and caviar aioli. If you go and eat a Teddy the hotel will donate 10% of the proceeds to City Harvest  a local charity in NYC.

$50.00 for a hot dog is crazy but not the world record. The current record holder of Guinness Book Of World Records and the globe’s most outrageously priced hot dog goes to  Serendipity 3  in NYC. The price of their hot dog? $69.00. Sigh! you can watch the video

There are stories of people like Budd and Grae Lewis in the state of Washington who took the last of Budds 401k savings and invested in a hot dog-cart. Two brothers J.T and Scott McDuffy from Maryville Tn. J.T. was laid off from his job as a butcher, both decided to get into the hot dog business. Then there is Brad Kossover from Conway AR. who has come up with the solar hot dog-cart!

My story is similar; after working in the automotive business for almost 20 years, I lost my job in January of 2010. My wife and I had our hot dog-cart as a part-time business but now we are full-time and keeping busy. Actually I have not looked back.

The hot dog-cart business is a great venture if you take the time to research and plan ahead. There are may pit falls as most of the people above have found out. There is an overload of information on the net; mostly from guys who claim to be an “expert” in the field of hot dog-cart ownership. The fact of the matter is most of these guys wanting you to by their E-books have never sold a single hot dog!  I speak from experience, I have purchased some of these books when I first started my business 6 years ago.

If you are thinking of starting a hot dog-cart business, talk to your local city and health deptartment first. Make sure you follow those guidelines to the letter. If you would like further information you can contact me.  I will also continue on this subject.

2 lbs sirloin steak or stew beef cut into chunks

1 bag baby carrots

5-6 potatoes peeled (or not)

3 table spoons flour

1 pkg McCormick stew seasoning (normally I would make my own but we are talking quick)

3 cups water

optional: 1 can of sweet corn and or green beans

salt & pepper

1 or 2 cans of Pillsbury rolls

Cut up you meat into medium to small chunks, roll in the flour and put in a skillet over medium heat until brown.

Once the meat is brown add in 3 cups of water and your season mix and let it come to a boil. (about 5 mins)

Cut up the potato and carrots into med chunks. You should have about 5 1/2 cups of veggies.

Put the veggies in the crock pot first, then the meat and water, salt and pepper to your liking.

not all crock pots are the same but if its going to be 8 or more hours until dinner you can put it on low. 6 hours or under put it on high. Leave the corn and green beans until the last 15 mins. of cooking because you don’t want them to turn to mush.

15 mins before dinner follow the directions on the rolls and put in the oven. Add the corn and green beans and you will have a quick and hearty meal that will bring the whole family to the dinner table!

Stew meat

Veggies

in the crock pot

The Finished Product