Thanks to Mark Reitman, I have a successful business, RiverDog RedHots, in Lodi, Wisconsin. I'm a Chicagoan who moved from Roselle with my family 8 years ago, to a small town located just north of Madison, and just south of Wisconsin Dells. This area has quite a few folks from Chicagoland living here and vacationing here. That's how I recognized that we have a problem here. During the boating and fishing season, there's not a convenient place on Lake Wisconsin to get a quick, great, hotdog. I realized this when I began bringing my portable grill with me out to the sand bars along the Wisconsin River and Lake Wisconsin and began cooking hotdogs and bratwursts. Boaters began requesting to purchase hotdogs and brats and that's when the light went on and I got serious about making a mobile restaurant on Lake Wisconsin.
My first thought was ..... I'm not going to do a hotdog stand unless I can do real Chicago Style Vienna Beef Hotdogs. Secondly, how will I get licensed to do this? Third, how will I put a mobile restaurant on a boat? It wasn't easy and took almost an entire year before I sold my first Vienna Beef Hotdog.
I found Mark on the Internet and he taught me everything I needed to know from getting licensed, to getting the correct vending cart, to getting the correct supplies, to preparing a Chicago Style Hotdog with skilled culinary precision.
I have a very successful business on the lake in the summer and in the City of Lodi during the weekends in spring and fall. Thanks Mark!
Dan Council
RiverDog RedHots
Lodi, Wisconsin
Dear Mark,
My business plan was quite simple. I would buy a hot dog vending cart to do our local/regional events and based on successes (or failures), make the decision on whether or not to bring the business to the next level with a permanent store.
Growing up in Chicago and being an aficionado of the hot dog culture all my life, I was certain that I knew everything I needed to know about the subject. However, after taking your course at Hot Dog University, I quickly became aware of just how little I actually knew. The well conceived curriculum gave me the knowledge of getting the right equipment to sell the Chicago-style hot dog; how to order, store, handle and serve product; how to properly deal with customers and to make more right decisions than wrong ones along the way.
Now that we are in the process of opening our store after a wonderfully successful cart season, I have to give my thanks and appreciation to the excellent course you developed and to your unique and personal teaching style that I will always credit with giving me both the knowledge and confidence to grow my business.
Thank you and best regards,
David Ross
DR. DAWG
Manitowoc, WI
My husband and I attended Hot Dog University in October 2008, and we started our own hot dog cart business in April 2009 in Wheaton, Illinois. Jay runs our hot dog cart business mostly himself, I help part time. Before opening our own business, Jay worked in warehouses and as a truck driver, but never really found a career, just a series of jobs.I had seen a hot dog cart business in Florida grow over the years into a stand, and that’s what started our interest in trying it in Chicago. So when you’re in Chicago and think of hot dogs, you think Vienna Beef. We went to their website, and it said "let us help you start your own business". We called and were told about Mark.
In fact, Jim from Vienna Beef in Atlanta said "don’t even think about starting your own business without talking to this guy first". So we listened, and we are so glad that we did.
Jay is now his own boss, of his own company, and has found a career he loves.
But be aware it is hard work. Opening up a hot dog cart business is not as easy as it seems. It used to be a guy on a corner, no permits or licenses involved, a simple way to make money. Now you have to be a corporation, with licenses and permits, tax ID numbers, and a commissary. Mark will not only teach you the basics of being a corporation, but he will also give you one day on the cart in real life experience, which is priceless. Mark will help you get started on the right foot, and will continue to be a teacher to you as questions arise when you are first starting out. We have survived our first year as a new business, in a downward economy, with a salary that we are proud of.
We also did 5 private events as well just by people visiting our cart and hiring us as caterers. People love hot dog carts, there is an attraction that is unexplainable, but you have to be able to handle the business part that comes with it.
Do yourself a favor, take Mark’s class, and learn from a pro.
It will be your first and best business decision.
Good luck !!
Kelly Vosmik
DOGS UNLEASHED INC.
"We had a great time and experience and appreciate all of the information and suggestions. Also appreciate being able to contact Mark down the line if we have questions. Thank you Mark!" - 2009 Hot Dog U Graduate
"Mark’s enthusiasm, presentation of material and various options and expertise are unsurpassed in any 2-day program I have ever attended. Great info from a truly special individual!" - 2008 Hot Dog U Graduate
"Thank you for all your help and information. The two day's that I spent at Hot Dog U was very helpful and full of good information. The tour through the Vienna Beef Company is something every hot dog consumer as well as vendor should do. I'm in the process of starting my business and hope to begin selling in a couple of months. I look forward to doing business with Vienna Beef and consulting with you in the future. Anyone interested in going in the business should make it a must to attend the Hot Dog U and use the Vienna products. I would also like to say thanks to the Vienna Beef staff as they were all very helpful and give very good information." - Graduate of the First Art of the Cart Class
"I would recommend that anyone going into this business take this class. Well-worth my time and money." - 2009 Hot Dog U Graduate
"Great professor. Addressed all of our needs, ideas, and feedback." - 2009 Valedictorian