yet anther newbie

*****I am moving this from another section*********

Hello everyone frank here

ok I have been biten by the hot dog bug I really am in the beginning stages of the planning and I want some feed back please on what I am missing, what I need to be thinking about etc...

I live in Pa, the local HS has 3100 kids, seniors do not eat on campus due to space and they are allowed to walk to one of the local places to get a sub or whatever or even walk home and eat. My one son is a senior now and I don't think he has eaten in the caf more than 10 times so far. They really are not very strict with who leaves campus for lunch.

Anyway everyone always says location location location. To me this screams of a good spot for lunch. I was thinking setting up and being open by 11am and then waiting for the after school rush also ending around 4pm. There really are not any business people around and the local traffic is at a minimum so the business would be all about the kids.

Does anyone have exp with a location that you are dependent on HS kids? Good idea? Bad idea? I understand it would not go year round.

One more thing. I have a good job and like my job, this is more for retirement, savings etc... I would actually hire my mother to operate it, she has a lot of food exp and is up to the challenge. She has both the personality and the work ethic for it.

what do you folks think?

I do understand that my first step needs to be to the health department. I know there is a lot of work to be done ahead of time I am just wondering what anything thinks of the idea of catering mostly to high school age kids.

I will keep trying to explain myself since it is hard to get a good read on someone just from one or two posts.

When I say this is for retirement or savings, it is not that I think this is easy money or anything like that. I am just turning 40 have been in my current job for 5 years and I do like it. Everyone has bad days but it is a good job that pays me well and it does have a good pension that is becoming more and more important to me as I get older.

Anyway I do work OT, I generally put in 60 hours a week (we are capped at 20 OT hours a week) because I had some finacial difficulties for a number of years before starting at this job. You know the saying how it takes one month to fall behind in money and 6 months to climb out of it. Well my years of struggling has taken 5 years to recover. I am happy to say I am pretty much recovered and now am looking ahead for the first time in my adult life (yea I know it is late but no one ever said I was smart lol)

Really this is two fold, my savings for down the line and helping my mother get back to a type of work she loves. My mother is by herself and has spent many years either managing food estabishments or waitressing, which is harder than managing in my opinion and i have done both) After 30 years of this her legs couldn't really take the pounding and carrying trys and the dishes up the arms and all that became too much. She is not frail but that is truly hard work.

She ended up working in a hospital but she dearly misses the people HER customers were like family to her. She would love this and I have spoken to her about it, she is all for it.

So it is for me for the future and her for now. I am not looking to get rich or anything like that. I am looking to put some money away (even if not for the first year or two as I get more established) for me and get my mom back to what she loves.

Ok I will shut up FOR NOW

have a great day everyone

frank

Its possible it might be a good location, anything is possible. I am scouting for locations now and ones with no other competition. Especially fast food competition. After school IDK. I usually don't want a dog for dinner. Just my thoughts. There are a lot of good people on this board that will help you. Stay glued to this board, it is worth it's weight.

Good luck to you.

thanks there are 49 pages on this section. I started at number 49 and I am working backwards lots and lots to learn

starting on page 42 lol my brain hurts

quote:

Originally posted by Nightshift

Its possible it might be a good location, anything is possible. I am scouting for locations now and ones with no other competition. Especially fast food competition. After school IDK. I usually don't want a dog for dinner. Just my thoughts. There are a lot of good people on this board that will help you. Stay glued to this board, it is worth it's weight.

Good luck to you.

when I say after school I am only talking about an hour after. School lets out at 230 I figure I would stop selling by 3:30 just to get that last rush. If it proves not worth it then i will start packing up by 2pm

one thing I am learning is that I am 100% sure that I will be going with a cart with a grill. I think people are right Smoke SELLS

I be smokin too. LOL

ok I am still reading (between work and my "honey to do list") but I did come across this

http://cgi.ebay.com/HOT-DOG-CART-VENDING-CONCESSION-TRAILER-BRAND-NEW_W0QQitemZ120280762965QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item120280762965&_trkparms=72%3A552%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14.l1318

I hope the link works but it is a new cart on ebay. Not an auction but a classified ad.

I am NOT ready to buy a cart yet but this one looked nice to me, but then again they all can be made to "look" nice right?

Does anyone have any opinions on this cart type or manufacturer? By my uneducated eyes it looks to have what I want and is a competitive price.

Tomorrow I am off to the health department with the first of 10,000 questions


thanks

frank

quote:

Originally posted by fgold

ok I am still reading (between work and my "honey to do list") but I did come across this

http://cgi.ebay.com/HOT-DOG-CART-VENDING-CONCESSION-TRAILER-BRAND-NEW_W0QQitemZ120280762965QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item120280762965&_trkparms=72%3A552%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14.l1318

I hope the link works but it is a new cart on ebay. Not an auction but a classified ad.

I am NOT ready to buy a cart yet but this one looked nice to me, but then again they all can be made to "look" nice right?

Does anyone have any opinions on this cart type or manufacturer? By my uneducated eyes it looks to have what I want and is a competitive price.

Tomorrow I am off to the health department with the first of 10,000 questions


thanks

frank

I saw that one online and talked to the maker when I was initially looking at carts. I went with a Metropolitan from Vendog instead. The one you posted doesn't fit in with my city's size requirements. Also, you may or may not be allowed to have condiments out in pans for your customers to dress their own dogs depending on your inspector. I thought the 4 compartment sink was a huge waste of space and should have been mounted on the side or rear of the cart. It only has space for two half size pans, which would be doubled by moving the sinks. I also heard many bad things about the build quality, but did not see one in person to inspect so I cannot say whether that is true.

well I went to the health department today, didn't get to speak to an actual inspector but was told very honestly that the city really does not want street vendors. I pushed on and of course it is not against the law here, the peddlers permit fee would be $10.00 a day but they didn't seem too enthused by the idea. Hey they don't have to like the idea right? just have to inspect the cart and let me get my permits.

ok more reading to do

frank