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It's almost unfair, but Iron Chef Bobby Flay, said to be burdened with the ownership of 20 restaurants worldwide, can exercize the same option if he wishes. He could forego opening the fancy restaurants, not hire the surly wait staffs with necessary health care coverage, cancel the orders for 20 ton air-conditioning units, refuse to agonize over wine lists. Bobby could simply do what I was dreaming about; buy a food cart, get a permit and tow it to an area of high foot traffic.
Of course, you have to be very good making one thing. What about a hot italian sausage with avocado, center cut bacon and grilled pineapple on a ciabatta bun?
Or switch things up with cheddar cheese, bacon, italian sausage and chipotle sauce?
Or, what about tacos made with blue corn tortillas?
After toying with the idea for a couple of months, I chose not to make the $3,000 investment in a food trailer. Nena didn't think it was a good idea for me to be parked in the vacant lot next to Valentino's on Central Blvd at 1:00 am selling hot dogs. So, instead, I started playing with the idea of writing a blog.
Blogging is so similar to operating a food cart, it's uncanny. There is no overhead. No large brick building like the Brownsville Herald has to maintain, air-condition, pay property taxes on. You don't have to buy hundreds of newspaper racks and worry about scrappers taking them to recycling yards. No fancy, smancy reporters or columnists to salary. No nightmares about the escalating cost of newsprint and subsequent destruction of native forests to make the paper pulp. Just direct vendor to customer delivery of a juicy morsel. So simple.
So, I weighed my career options. Blog or hot dog stand? Cheesy article or cheesy taco? A blogging expert from Austin helped me with my decision. He said that the number of blogs worldwide had passed the 1 billion mark and that most were inconsequential. Billion with a "B"? Wow! That reminded me of the old ad trying to convince Americans to buy the Renault automobile. "Fifty million Frenchmen can't be wrong!" the ad read. Well, actually, they were wrong. Renaults were not all that. With all my pie charts drawn, all the evidence in, with spousal semi-approval either way, one fact tipped the scales in favor of the blogosphere: No Permit Needed
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Sorry to tell you Mr. Barton, your idea of the hot dog cart is not original. I had thought about it many years ago, but put it away in the back of my mind after seeing that the only time people buy from cart vendors is during charro days. there are three businesses down town that have done very well, not in moving cart but similar to. 1) Rutledge burgers. No a/c, no restroom for patrons, in between walls, the city doesnt bother them because they are a "historical place", 2) another "junk food" fast in between buildings stand on Elizabeth street (caters mostly to Matamors shoppers or local pedestrians, sells chips, water, nachos, etc.), 3) a small burger stand in the corner of 13th and Washington. I think it was called "Rafa's Burger stand". As the name has it, you get a burger, chips and coke. I understand this young man made good money with this business. Blogging is eventful, the other businesses can make a profit or break your savings. By the way, the BUS terminal charges 1,500 a month for renting a space. Unless you are a big conglomerate (like Church's chicken or Subway), not a chance for local people to even bother with a taco stand. (being sarcastic on my last words.)
ReplyDeleteThat just shows how much they care about local people. If you dont have the buck$$$, your business is not welcomed.
This is becoming one of the top blogs in Brownsville! keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteWell, other than helping me figure out what I'm fixing for dinner tonight I don't understand any of this. What is going on in Texas? Why, for instance would you be selling any food at 1am unless you are a bar?
ReplyDeleteFood carts and food trucks are THE hot ticket, at least in the CA SF bay area. Permits are pretty minimal, you move around and get people to follow you both electronically and physically via twitter. Settling for a blog when you really want to cook? Maybe you need to move.
I love your creative ideas and you would be a hit in my neck of the CA woods if you bought that cart and got busy.
BTW I worked for one of the best restaurant owners in downtown San Jose. He sold his restaurants (put me out of work) and bought a hot dog cart and is very successful and very happy to avoid all the issues you pointed out.
Perhaps you've not spent much time in Brownsville, Texas, perhaps the poorest city in the U.S. Here, entrepreneurship is stifled with a myriad of regulation. No hot dog carts or food buses are permitted to operate here, only taco stands.
DeleteJim
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