Trying to get a cart

I emailed a guy a couple of times about a cart and he said he didn't have time for emails. I tried to tell him I am not ready to purchase until I find out all the rules and laws. I would think emails are good because u can answer them at your own convenience. Especially when someone is just window shopping.

Anyways I didn't realize how hard it is to get any answers out of the health dept. They keep faxing me the same stuff I already have. I said I need food restrictions ect. I guess from the basic cart, I can only do hot dog & a bun. Ouch. No chili, is something she did mention unless the cart is enclosed.

Who was the guy you emailed? The health department? Assuming it is the health dept., the guy was right about being busy. During my 17 years with public health, the only sitting around I would ever do was writing reports, working on my depts. yearly budget, and required meetings. Frequently, I would have to arrive at the office an hour early (unpaid) just to catch up with non-emergent messages from the day before.

It is the policy in many health districts to not spend any time with a potential foodservice owner until they have applied for a permit, along with full payment, and have submitted the plans of their concession or commercial kitchen/restaurant. Until then, all I would have time to do was to make sure one has an understanding of what forms need to be filled out and to give packets of information on the process. From my perspective, it was not my job to convince someone to proceed with a purchase. Once it is established that a hotdog cart is legal to operate, then it is up to you to decide to make the purchase.

My advice would be to fill out the health district paperwork, submit a plan with specifications of the cart you are interested in purchasing, write out a check for the fee payment, and turn it all in BEFORE YOU BUY A CART. Once everything is turned in, then you become an ACTUAL customer and not just a looky-lou. You will have assistance to continue through the process. If that cart is not approved based on its plan and a review of your menu, you will be told what corrections need to be made. Then you can adjust either your menu, your cart, or both. Once you have both the menu and plan approved, THEN you purchase the cart.

Just an FYI.....when I retired from the health district and opened my restaurant, I swear my permitting and inspection process was purposefully put through the wringer. Maybe the HD wanted to make sure there was no perception of a quid pro quo. <Shrug> Who knows?

great post DB.

quote:

Originally posted by ArnieTX

geat post DB.

Thanks, Arnie.

Yes that was a great post. No the guy I was going to buy the hot dog from he said he didn't have time for emails, said for me to call him. I told him I wasn't quite ready to buy yet and thought email would be easier, guess I was wrong. Maybe I should consider someone else for a cart.

quote:

Originally posted by Nightshift
.... Maybe I should consider someone else for a cart.

Well ya know what they say....there's lots of carts in the ocean.

quote:

Originally posted by Nightshift

Yes that was a great post. No the guy I was going to buy the hot dog from he said he didn't have time for emails, said for me to call him. I told him I wasn't quite ready to buy yet and thought email would be easier, guess I was wrong. Maybe I should consider someone else for a cart.

I went through the same situation last year. I live in CA so the rules might be different but heres what I did.

1) Call your health department and ask them to send you paperwork on all you need for your cart to pass health dept. codes. You also should be able to find it online so ask them to point you that direction if you prefer online.

2) Buy your cart after you know all the rules and regulations the cart has to have to pass. If it is simple things to upgrade and you can do them yourself, then go with the lower priced cart and put those hands to work. I did alot of upgrades on my cart and got it for a great price. It is actually a nice hobby.

3) Ask a local restaurant or bar if you can pay them to store you cart and wash your pans there. You should also have commisary rental spaces in your city you can try as well. There is a guy in my city that stores his cart at a regular storage center and washes his pans at home (it took alot of convincing to the health department but he did it)

4) Make an appointment with the health department to have the cart evaluated for it's health sticker (permit). They will probably need a propane leak check certificate and they will need the comissary letter from where you plan to store the cart. Bring your check book or pay in advance as recommended by DB. If they give you a hard time about your cart do not get upset or lose your cool. It is normal to do a return visit for some minor things to pass codes.

5) Buy insurance. It should only run about $500 per year for a million dollar policy. This should cover anyone getting burned on your cart or getting sick from your food (God forbid). Also this will cover your cart if it gets stolen or damaged.

6) Business license

7) Buy signage. Either a logo you create yourself or hot dog decals from Ebay. Dress that cart up and make it an advertising machine.

8) Do a test run with neighbors and friends (as alot of people do on here) and ask them which product they prefer and what not. Pretty much a taste test. This way you can sell a product you stand behind and feel confident with.

9) Book a small event. If you do not make money in this event do not get discouraged. Use it as "on the job training" and if you come out ahead then bonus for you. You can iron out alot of problems and learn alot.

10)Keep the cart clean and presentable and make Roadfood.com a nightly ritual or as often as you can. This site is priceless! and has everything you need.

There is a little more to it but these are the basics to get you started. I am sure DaveBugg has alot of knowledge in this topic so he is the guy's brain you wanna pick.

my costs

Cart: $1,200 off Craigslist.com
Extra add ons: $250
Insurance: $500
Health Dept certificate: $450
Propane check: $100
Comisary: free (make friends and shake hands)

total: 2,500

Hope this helps. Anyone can chime in on the things I missed because i'm sure I missed some things.

first you dont want to really buy a cart off craigslist. right now also in Cali...or los angeles county, you can NOT register a used, already registered, mobile steam cart. it MUST be brand new. and to top it off (thanks to the kind folks at the health department) you cant even buy a new steam cart and register it with the county, they wont allow it...it has to be this BIG cart with a grill and 3 compartment sink, and fridge system...its redicoulous, and its $22k.

i almost bought a used cart and thankfully i didnt because i wouldve been stuck with it. unless you will use it for private events you can not use it on the street and at permi locations because the HD will not approve it. it must be new.

i would recommend anyways buying a new cart then a used. for tons of reasons, but just think, you dont know what was served on the cart or how it was maintained. people couldve kept the cart poorly with cleaning, and next thing you know you find rat droppings in the trays or under the burners...its just stuff you dont want to worry about. yea you can save a few thousand, but you might spend the same fixing things wrong.

get a new cart if you can. and depending on where you are (you didnt say) get the steam cart, but if you can afford it and think you can handle big crowds, get the huge grill cart for about $20k because on that you can do everything.

quote:

Originally posted by GoTTi

first you dont want to really buy a cart off craigslist. right now also in Cali...or los angeles county, you can NOT register a used, already registered, mobile steam cart. it MUST be brand new. and to top it off (thanks to the kind folks at the health department) you cant even buy a new steam cart and register it with the county, they wont allow it...it has to be this BIG cart with a grill and 3 compartment sink, and fridge system...its redicoulous, and its $22k.

i almost bought a used cart and thankfully i didnt because i wouldve been stuck with it. unless you will use it for private events you can not use it on the street and at permi locations because the HD will not approve it. it must be new.

i would recommend anyways buying a new cart then a used. for tons of reasons, but just think, you dont know what was served on the cart or how it was maintained. people couldve kept the cart poorly with cleaning, and next thing you know you find rat droppings in the trays or under the burners...its just stuff you dont want to worry about. yea you can save a few thousand, but you might spend the same fixing things wrong.

get a new cart if you can. and depending on where you are (you didnt say) get the steam cart, but if you can afford it and think you can handle big crowds, get the huge grill cart for about $20k because on that you can do everything.

Is this a new rule as of 2008? I am in Santa Clara county and my cart passed HD codes. I purchased it off Craigslist and it is 4 years old. If someone is worried about what people cooked on it, steam pans and trays can be purchased for a small sum compared to a new cart. These are smaller carts im referring to not big kitchen trailors. Rat droppings can be cleaned if ever found and you can clean the sucker up real good to run and look just fine. Also I mentioned make sure the cart will pass the HP codes before even purchasing it. You can always take a look at the cart take notes on it and call the HD with the details before you purchase it.

Some of the new carts I looked at were nothing compared to the set up I found on Craigslist, and for 1/4 the price. I am sure there are bad deals but if you do your research and makes some phone calls to the HD before purchasing it you will be fine.

I have to renew my health card next month and I hope they didn't change anything from last year.

if you got approved then your grandfathered in. you can no longer buy a used cart that has already been registered with the health department and register it to a new owner with them, they wont allow it. need to buy new ones now. its a redicoulous new rule they have imposed, amongst a bookload of other stupid rules i am finding out about now, so i am not happy at all for even considering buying this cart.

quote:

Originally posted by GoTTi

if you got approved then your grandfathered in. you can no longer buy a used cart that has already been registered with the health department and register it to a new owner with them, they wont allow it. need to buy new ones now. its a redicoulous new rule they have imposed, amongst a bookload of other stupid rules i am finding out about now, so i am not happy at all for even considering buying this cart.

That sucks. I guess alot of things change in a year. Maybe there is a way around it though? Last year the health inspector asked me what model my cart was and I told him it was a custom made cart. He could not find any brand name on the cart and labeled it custom I belive. How about custom carts? they might not know if it is used or not because the trailor on my cart is the only way to identify any numbers. I hear we need to 86 our steam pans and get grills soon too? Do you know when that will go into affect GoTTi?

Thanks

POSTERS----- The first thing you need to do when responding to someone is click on their "Handle" and see where they're from! Night Shift is from Old Hickory TN, I think that's in Davidson County (Nashville, By God, TN), not LA or anywhere place else. Different rules, Different regs, Different requirements from where you are. If you have generic recommendations that's fine - if you have stuff directly related to that geography, that's better. I've been reading all of NightShifts posts. I lived in TN and my daughter still lives there- She married a native Tennessean who has never been west of Memphis, so I know a little bit about the TN pysche. You need to spel it out for them. They're not the sharpest knives in the drawer, if you know what I mean! ( Except Sundancer7 of course, he's travelled a bit)!

I have to stick for my city now. Although I am not originally from TN I do have to say that Nashville is a lot smarter then Chattanooga where I spent 12 years. From the culture there if you weren't born there you don't belong there. I feel so bad that I had born a daughter there. I moved her to Old Hickory about 2 years ago and she is smarter, faster and more wiser. DO I give the credit to Nashville, it still remains to be seen. Nashville however has a lot to offer or I would not be here.

Loved your post and found it to be amusing. It amazes how many still refer to anyone live in TN to be not the sharpest knive; u are not allowed to say that until u lived in Chattanooga/

Believe it or not they call Nashville "lil chicago" and I will take that as a compliment as I have been to the tallest building, ate some elote and some vienna beef. Love Petes Pizza on Western. I am afraid to tell u the real city I am from, feeling although it's in the north it is just as hillbillishhhhh.

LMAO

quote:

Originally posted by Foodbme

POSTERS----- The first thing you need to do when responding to someone is click on their "Handle" and see where they're from! Night Shift is from Old Hickory TN, I think that's in Davidson County (Nashville, By God, TN), not LA or anywhere place else. Different rules, Different regs, Different requirements from where you are. If you have generic recommendations that's fine - if you have stuff directly related to that geography, that's better. I've been reading all of NightShifts posts. I lived in TN and my daughter still lives there- She married a native Tennessean who has never been west of Memphis, so I know a little bit about the TN pysche. You need to spel it out for them. They're not the sharpest knives in the drawer, if you know what I mean! ( Except Sundancer7 of course, he's travelled a bit)!

Hey my kiosk cart was selling for $7995.00
it has 3 burners and is 8 feet long with stabler bars on the trailer,
a power pump for my water. 12 gallon fresh water, 14 gallon dirty water.
I also have neon for at night you can see COZ DOGS for a long way at night.
I spent 12 grand for my set up. blake tech built my cart in florida, I drove down and
inspected it before handing over the check. 3 year warranty as well.