“You bring the drinks, and I got the buns …. I got a hot dog in each hand …” Detroit Cobras (Hot Dog)

Today, a little lesson in how to convince people to wedge a casing full of leftover animal parts into their mouth. Mmmmmmmmmm!

Maybe you could offer custom ketchup and relish packets, as part of your wedding catering package.

Every tasty snack can benefit from a little personalization – even a self moisturizing demon dog.

Mak Reitman, the lone instructor at Hot Dog University, makes some key points about targeted marketing for the lone food service cart in the Chicago Reader:

“…“I once tried selling chicken noodle soup. I couldn’t give it away,” Reitman tells Council. “Someone’s coming to you, they’re expecting to buy a hot dog. Doing one thing and doing it well—that’s the key.” He won’t even sell sides that traditionally go with hot dogs: “Potato chips—I’m not having anything to do with them.”

“…Once when Reitman knew he’d have to share a spot with another vendor during a multiday festival, he says, “I had Vienna Beef give me 1,000 paper hats. I gave one to every kid and every adult that would wear one. They did all the advertising for me. The other guy was seething.”…

“… little freebies make the customer happy. When four young women come up to the cart to place an order, he offers each a piece of gum. “Dubble Bubble! Yay!” he says. “Yaaaaay!” they repeat in unison and proceed to order a substantial amount of food.”

My sweet onion relish lord – the owner of Pittsburgh’s Franktuary walks around in a hot dog costume. That’s a lot more embarrassing than simple doorhangers.

But less entertaining than the sausage race at Milwaukee Brewers games.
Thanks to Photoshop, we can move millions of buns and dogs on the gigantic Oscar Meyer Boeing Large Cargo Freighter.

In the ultra competitive world of roadside food service, it might help to win something like NY’s Vendy Award.
More Detroit Cobras … on myspace.

[tags] hot dog carts, mustard, relish, oscar meyer, weiner, sausage [/tags]