Unreal…No, really – UNREAL!!! Don’t read this unless you want to be green with envy for at least six months. I’m not kidding.
This just in from Dave Plante:
Hello Steve,
We held our first big event this past weekend. After putting everything together last year with regards to equipment and permitting, we were ready to roll – this operation is a Dog Stand on Steroids.
We can crank out as many dogs as we want at virtually any venue. Storage, refrigeration, dry stock, water – we have it all. The trailer is equipped with two commercial combo fridge/freezers, cold storage prep table, two deep fryers, two propane burners, commercial oven, 48″ flat grill, 4-compartment steamer table, 4 NSF sinks, fresh & gray water holding tanks and a complete Ansul automatic fire suppression system.
We can easily provide for 300-600++ per day – depending on the event. The trailer is 8.5′ x 18.5′, and is essentially a commercial kitchen on wheels.
She’s an absolute beast when it comes to providing “dog’s” to the masses.
Our local Triumph motorcycle dealer had an event whereas the corporate Triumph test-ride trailer would be here (outside of Seattle) just this past weekend. We served our “New England Coneys”, smoked brats, cheese & Polish sausages, for the two-day event. We sold out of everything, having only a dozen or so dogs left over at closing time.
Instead of being positioned in front of a business, or on a busy sidewalk on a daily basis, my wife and I have targeted big venue events over weekends – mostly because of the size of our concession trailer.
For 2010, (our first official year in business), we have scheduled appearances at car & motorcycle shows, food and festival fairs, city & county fairs, outdoor concerts & and private parties. In fact, while serving up our “Coney’s” just yesterday, we were asked to provide our services for a private car show next month, where they expect hundreds of exhibitors and attendees.
As a side note, if and when this happens to “other” Hot Dogger’s out there, be sure to remind them that they need to have professional business cards. You just never know when you’ll be asked to provide Hot Dog services.
Have a look at these pictures of our first official event. Not only did we have a great time, we made some decent coin as well.
Cheers,
Dave Plante
Dave’s New England Coneys
Renton, WA
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Thanks Dave for sending these awesome pics and for sharing your story. Truly inspirational!
O.K. Get out your hankies, it’s drool time. Click the pic for a larger version. I expect a you-know-what-load of comments on this one…
-Steve
SWEET TRAILER, Musta cost you a fortune maybe 25 grand or so.? or you build this one from steve’s plans lol…good luck
Very nice!!!! Good luck with the business!!
CONGRATULATIONS! Steve was right, I’m “hulk” green with envy! lol Great job Dave, I wish you continued success in your future ventures!
Congratulations! What a great rig. Have a super summer. Did you build the trailer yourself? It looks awesome.
Dave, you must be so proud of that beautiful trailer! All I can say is WOW…..I want one of those!!! Please give us the website were you got her from, I’m sure others would like one. I also love the paint job.
Best of luck,
Tony Sarafian
whatatastydog@yahoo.com
WOW!!! Fantastic job Dave for you and your Misses…That is what I picture as FUN on wheels. I am happy to see the fine work you two have put into this rig. May I ask, abouts..how much did it cost to put it all together and how long it took you from start to finish? Did you do the work yourself or have professional help and where did you get your equipment from?
You can do some serious cooking on that stove and flat top, I bet it was a blast kicking out that much food for your event! Love the motorcycles too, they have a spot in my heart too, good memories. Rock on and continued success.
Wow! That rocks! Good luck.
T-Dogs
Just AMAZING! Envy is a very good word for me today as i go out ,and sling dogs on my little cart,Gee every thing you have just looks so professional,and very very SHARP!!!!! Jeff
Fabulous. Nice Job!
Say what ua in a a New England Cooney?
Is that like a Michigan dog?
A man
I am speechless! …okay I think I can talk now. WOW! Awesome, Cool, Rad…ouch that hurt, my jaw hit the ground again…slobber, drool..can I say I am in love?!
Congratulations to both of you!
Where’s the umbrella!? Very Nice.
Sweet rig man! Best of luck – Franky
To all that have commented, Thank You for your support – much appreciated!
To answer the questions regarding “The Beast on Wheels”, here goes;
When I decided to do this, I started looking at all used dog-carts out there. I decided on the enclosed version due to our weather out here in the PNW, and the enormous amount of large venues that occur on a monthly basis. The guy that I bought it from used it once – then decided that it wasn’t his cup of tea. He paid $42k, but I paid less. Then when we found that our 1/2 ton truck would not tow her very well, we had to purchase a full 1 ton turbo diesel rig. Our investment so far is approx. $75-80k.
The trailer itself is from a company in California called West Coast Trailers (Madera). They do these custom to order, and work with individual states health dept’s to ensure that all regulations are met.
All colors, graphics and artwork are of my design. I couldn’t see paying someone for work that I could do. I then had my graphics prepared and applied by a local sign shop.
As for start up time, we purchased the trailer last May, then started down the road of permitting, inspections (Health, L&I, Fire, Plumbing, etc.) and buying all “other” equipment that we needed. By the time we completed these tasks, the event season was over. So we decided to officially open in 2010.
There are many types of “Coneys” out there. They come from Michigan, Rhode Island, West Virginia, New York – and so on. Mine are based on what I was raised on in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. They are also called, Missles, Belly Busters, Red Hots & Gaggers. This is a meat sauce, not a chili sauce. My version contains no less than 20 different spices and ingredients. It’s a labor of love, but well worth the finished product.
Again, thanks for the support – it’s great to hear from everyone.
Cheers,
Dave the Coneyman
You guys rock the house! Or should I say, “Rock the Rig!” We can’t wait to try a coney stright from the rig at your next venue. As your golfing buddies, I’m certain your coney is much better than your golf game (excluding Penny), LOL… Love ya guys!!
WOW! Great rig, great graphics,
Good Luck, Guys!
Wanda Swan, Dixie Dogs and Such…
So when can you bring your big rig to Tennessee??! =). Congrats on a successful launch and we wish you many years of fun!
Well the trailer looks awesome.$75-80k is tons of money though.Wouldn’t few carts spread troughout the venue site produce same sales?Investment would be much lower than.Probably $10-15k.What do others hotdoggers reckon?
Rob
Hotdogger from Poland,
A trailer like this is an investment that will be amortized over many years, making the business potentially profitable right off the bat.
A rig like this can do a volume that’s impossible for a pushcart, not to mention the all weather capability for year round vending.
This is the big leagues – big bucks in, big bucks out.
Plus, it’s just freakin’ cool!
-Steve
AWESOME!! Glad to hear all your hard work is finally paying off. Stop by Spokane with the rig on the way to Tennessee – we need gaggers too!!
Cathy xx
Wow!I’m still new at this but that Trailer looks like a money machine on wheels..Way to go..Good luck in your Doggin future…
I like many people here have a hot dog CART.
I would like to know more about hot dog vending with a cart. Its nice to see a 80 ft long food consession trailer. However I have choosen not to make my living as a concessionaire as I have choosen carting. That being said, I wish to say that we are at Hot Dog Cart News and hopefully soon we will be able to talk about find a LOCATION. How important that is and do we work days or nites. Do we pay rent or not. How do we test market a location, and when do we give up an less desireable location. We can take courses in money management and go to Viennas University…..but we need a location. When this is found we need to know how to evaluate it and work it.
marketing and promotion, sales and customer profiles can be explored as well.
Hope the trailer does you well.
joe
Mighty fine!,Mighty fine! When I grow up, I want to be just like Dave!!
Best of Luck..
nice. love the trailer. would love to upgrade to something similar someday. Good luck with all your events, and have fun.
Hey Steve,
Keep up the good work! I enjoy your newsletter and the feedback/ideas that your readers give all of us.
John
I’m speechless…..and my wife will tell ya, that’s an event in itself.
LOOKS GREAT!! BEST OF LUCK!
Nice job.
Steve, I have a question, with this set up would you need a commissary?
It depends on the local regs but in most places, no.
-Steve
Congratulations on your grand opening and best of luck in the future.
ps: make that trip to Nashville & Spokane via Mesa.
Dad
Dad
wow very nice,good luck to you two
We are going to have to make a trek over to try one..or two!
I really like how looking professional is important to you. I hope for great business in your future.
Thank for sharing your story and photo’s.
I love to hear all the sucess stories.The advice and input from everyone is very helpful.Beautiful trailor haven’t seen one like it before.I know you are proud
Best wishes Trish
Steve,
You are absolutely right.The scale of the investment has just overwhelmed me.It is really big bucks in when comparing to purchase of few second hand carts.
But I agree it is the way to go if you dream about big money.
Rob
Nice trailor! I have a question for all you hot doggers. What do you serve your dogs on? I’ve seen a foil like paper and a little open box. What would you all suggest? Just getting started. Carts all built and Relish This should be up and running by the middle of next month!
Hal, I use a square piece of aluminum foil that I purchase from Sam’s Club. I’ve tried those paper boats also, but they take up more space in my cabinet, whereas the tin foil sheets are precut and come out one-at-a-time from the package. I’ve seen those paper sleeves also, but I’ve not tried them. Good slinging to ya!
Hal,
We wrap our Coneys in wax paper (or thin sheets of foil), then set in a small “boat” along with chips. With the heat of the dog and the sauce, it acts as a steamer. The same goes for regular dogs. By doing this, we no longer use our steamer table for the buns. Hope this helps…
Congratulations! Looks great!
Do you sell your “special recipe” sauce?
To Robert M.,
No – I do not sell my Coney sauce (yet). This will be something that I’ll need to think over in the years to come.
Thanks for asking.
GREAT TRAILER GOOD LUCK
Dave nice trailer! We have a 20ft trailer and getting ready to start in northern AZ , can i ask what size generator you bought and brand? Any advise would help. Thanks Mikes Moutain High Wieners
Hello Mike,
We started with the Generac 8,000/12,000 (XP8000E), but found the noise level unacceptable for any outdoor event. Rather than trying to “muffle” the Generac, or build a sound-proofing box – we decided to bite the bullet and purchased a Honda EU 6500is. The Honda is so quiet, that you can actually stand over it and have a conversation. Sure, it cost more – but the quality and db level is well with the extra coin.
Last night, I started the process of mounting a WARN winch in the back of my truck so that I can load and unload the Honda generator without any assistance (with ramps).
Hope this helps, and best of luck.
ps. I’d really like to see some pictures of your trailer.