Cart/Hot Dog Dilemna

Hi Folks, been busy with the typical pre opening wildness.
Anyway, looks like I cant get vienna Beef product down here in Key West.
I can, but the freight cost makes it a no go.
I can get Best's Kosher easily though.
Good Dog. Fills bun great at 5-1 size.
The very few vendors down here dont use it becuz of cost.
I will becuz I know folks are wanting a real chicago dog.
Anyway, wondering what other pro's out there say about best's kosher for geographical selling area.
thx
joeydog

I can't say anything about your area (except I'd like to visit), but I do have some experience with the Bests Kosher product.

I use the 4/1 Bests Polish. They are far and away my best seller.

If I could, I would suggest you see what other dogs are available through the Sams Club distribution system.

Joey

I used Best's Kosher as my backup hot dog at a festival and sold out of them. The ones here at Sams are not 5/1 but 4/1. The each cost is about 50 cents. They are excellent and have a very good texture. It would make a great chicago style dog.

I am working a festival in a Jewish area in two weeks and will have the Best's Koshers.

Ronnie

I use Bests Kosher 1/4 pounders on a Vienna bun-add grilled onions, japs, red peppers. kraut and I get 2.50 for them, sometimes 3.00 depending on the gig. Lots of compliments and repeat customers.

Thanks guys,
I only have a gfs marketplace to work with here in key west.
Allows me to walk in and buy off the shelf while still retaining wholesale prices for me.
Talked to a Best's Kosher (saralee foodservice) rep for my area and he will help me get marketing material,p.o.p.,etc.
He also said I should be able to order diff sizes.
Question for you guys, which size sells best?
4-1 seems like you could not get your gross profit margin up.
Remember, I am just starting out at this.
Lot to learn.
thx
joeydog

Joeydog.. FYI, if you go thru the GFS catalog, anything they stock can be delivered to the Marketplace store. (Atleast thats true here in Grand Rapids). You're not just limited to what they have on the shelves there. GFS Product catalog: http://www.gfs.com/content_marketplace/products/products.html

quote:

Originally posted by rickmalekI do have some experience with the Bests Kosher product.I use the 4/1 Bests Polish. They are far and away my best seller.If I could, I would suggest you see what other dogs are available through the Sams Club distribution system.

One of my best sellers is the Spicy Smoked Sausage from
Sam’s Club. But then my local Sam’s stopped carrying it
so now I drive south to the Ofallon Illinois Sam’s Club
(round trip 160 miles) to pick up several cases. It adds
about 12 cents to each unit but I don’t care they sell
very well and can be micro-waved in 58 seconds, held in
hot water or done on a grill. They are really big and the
customers that try them come back again and again.

I’m glad our local Sam’s club doesn’t carry them anymore
now my competition can’t get them. I also sometimes buy
buns from GFS and they special order foot long buns for
the Spicy Smoked Sausage sandwiches and if you ask they
will order and carry a Chicago Style Bun.

Buddy Roadhouse came by Thursday and was laughing at me
because I don’t use Vienna Beef products in my Chicago
Style Dogs but people here in Springfield don’t know what
a Chicago Style Hotdog really is.
Chicago is 180 miles from here. So if they get a good
tasting hot dog with all the normal goodies used on a
Chicago Style Dog they are happy.

So I now use the Best's Kosher 4/1 and dress it well
and sell the heck out of them at ,$4.50. with one side.
What ever works, works. Don’t worry about what sells
in Chicago worry about what sells in your hometown.
Jack@DrofBBQ.com

PS Ok now all the Chicago Style Dogs guys are going to
be peeved but I don't care LMAO

Filet Mignon,

Back when I was in high school in Chicago, we would pack out cars and go to Super Dawg! They had a statue of a dog in a bun on top of the place. Absolutely the best hot dog in Chicago. They did not need to advertise, word of mouth made them impossibly busy. The fries that came with where made in store. Long,thin,crunchy almost chip like. The best! It's been 30 years since I have eaten one. Thank you for the wonderful memory. Put the picture of the dog on my wallpaper!

Laura

Joey, I am a little concerned about your food cost with GFS. Please let me know how much you'll be paying for your dogs through GFS, because they were almost double what Sams Club was here in Kentucky.

Thank you for contacting Sara Lee. Please call FCI at 1-877-426-5240 for assistance with promotion products. We thank you for using our products.

What about the buns ???

Thanks CSD. I have already got ahold of my saralee/best's kosher rep for my area.
he is sending everything I need for POP,signage etc.
Found out yesterday I can get the Best's 5-1 polish beef here.
Which I will probably go with.

On a different note.
The Key West area/ Tourist area which is known as Mallory Square.
Go to sunsetcelebration.org to see what I mean.
I was told by one of the managers that I would have no trouble setting up.
Wrong!!! I was just informed that since another pretzel/dog longtime vendor is there. I can not do dogs. I knew of this and asked, he said no prob.
They said I can do something else though.
I will meet next Mon to figure it out.
I can do kabobs, meat on stick type stuff.
So I have been working on chunking up polish/knockwurst and doing simple kabob's with pineapple, etc.
Fl rules and regs say nothing that I cant do that. Just that it has to be hotdog meat/prepackaged frankfurter food.
It should work out since there are no other kabob people there.
This is a little setback, but it may be a blessing in disguise.
I am working on Island type salsa's and relish's as I type.
Probably will have pita pockets and use that as a bun, (they may let me put it on a bun, dont know yet).
Could be a brand new thing.

Anybody, have this strange problem.
thx for listening.
joeydog

Joey

You run on this type of thing all the time. You're right you have to be flexible and do another food item. The pita time sound good with different salsas.

Ronnie

Just wanted to say that I am SOOOOO happy to have found a bunch of smart and seasoned people with the same cause. Thankyou
CSD,
You sure got me worried with that last statement.
Just got off the phone with my states Food & Hotel Rules & regs division.
I asked specifically, " Can I cut up Hotdog/Frankfurter prepackaged food items into pieces?
They said, "It does not say whether I can or can not" "It is not addressed in the FL statue 509"
I said, "That means I can, right"
They said, " I am goverened by fl 509.
Nada, nothing that will keep me from doing it.
Got worried there.
I was wanting to make my own salsa's etc. But I cant.
I will visit my commissary Thur and talk to the owner.
She has an amazing deli/cafe/catering biz that I got hooked up with.
Should be able to make stuff there & transport it.
So, iwill meet with the "committee" for key west and make my pitch Mon.
I need luck with them, got the state law on my side.
thx
joeydog

CSD, that's my old stomping grounds. Morgan runs north and south, so they're on south Morgan street. (I just like to be right)