Making money the old fashioned way, 84 cents at a time...

I am an equal opportunity omnivore. So before I go any further, I must confess that I love a good hot dog. Not one of those trendy designer hotdogs, with all manner of handcrafted bread buns and luxury condiments, I mean an old fashioned lunch counter, vendor cart, walk-up-to-the-window and take it away working class dog. Preferrably dressed with chili, slaw and mustard, and nothing else. 2 please, with fries, or if they're made from scratch, onion rings. And iced tea so sweet it'll make your teeth ache to drink it.

Also, I have to say that I am a fan of the independent, the small, the human scale, and the simple. The challenge in our lives is to find our niche, and support the niches others create that appeal to us. What does this have to do with hotdogs you may wonder? Read on, and all will become clear...

All hot dogs are NOT created equal. I'll even venture to say one in 10 meet my hotdog standard of excellence. I've had hotdogs all over the world, have had them in ballparks and arenas, cookouts and restaurants, and in my opinion there is only one geographical place nails them consistently. I returned to the mother ship this past weekend, hotdog heaven if you will, happily indulged, and feel compelled to report. (editors note: I have been to NYC, and have had hotdogs there, good and bad. A good hotdog town, but not the best in the world. But a better city by far than the home of the best hotdogs in the world...)

Anyways: Rewind to last weekend, and my visit to Bill's Hot Dogs. Bill's has been located in a little town about 20 miles away from Mom and Dad's since the beginning of time. They have 2 places: one in the old downtown area, the original walk-up window. No seating, and no parking. Which eventually led them to put up a second counter out in a little shopping strip, which has parking, but again, walkup only, no sitting, no tables. This is the one we went to.

We arrived about 11:15 in the morning, and the line was already snaked out the door. Dad says at least it wasn't too busy yet. There were 4 people working: one was manning the fryer (Bills hotdogs are fried, not steamed...crispy outside, hotdoggity inside) one was doing the buns and condiments, one was wrapping and one was running the register. All in a tiny space. And they were FAST! Average time to make your dog, all the way: about 7 seconds. These ladies were machine-like in their efficiency. You see, when I wait in a line, I watch things like this, and ponder. So we have 4 people making say $6/hr tops, no benefits. $24/hr in labor, plus space overhead which there I'd guess would be $1500/month including utils, give or take. Then there's material cost buns, dogs, mustard, onions and the homemade chili (which is a white chili made from white beans seasoned with hamhocks, chili powder and hot pepper, mushed down to a thin lumpy spreadable paste). So who know how much that is, but not much. Plus cabbage for slaw, and some onions. I'm thinking wow, how can they keep the doors open on a place, never mind 2, at 84 cents a dog? Amazing.

So we were in line for about 7 or 8 minutes, say 10 for easy math. I counted the dog orders: 107. In ten minutes, made, rung up and out the door. And it wasn't even busy yet. Dad says phone orders from the mills and small factories start around 11:45...100 here, 200 there, till about 1 pm when the lunch biz dies down. This in addition to the walk-ins. So here's where it gets interesting. The place is opened from 10am -6pm. We know they make at least 600 dogs an hour between 11 and 1. Add to that a couple of phone orders, say another 500. Thats 1100. Guess another what...200 over the rest of the day...so, 1300 dogs in a workday, on average, 5 days a week, and then whatever on Saturday, maybe it's slow so say another 500. The nice ladies in this storefront are making 7000 hotdogs a week, at 84 cents. That equals $5880/wk income.

Bills Hotdogs is grossing $20,000 a month. Did I mention that the only thing they sell is the hotdog? No fries, no burgers, no ice cream, nothing except canned sodas. Hotdogs, a max of 4 condiments. They are grossing $240,000 a year AT LEAST on 84 cent hotdogs. At this one location. With an estimated overhead of what...about $70,000 in labor and space...and whatever product cost and stuff like insurance is added...even if that's another $70,000, they are netting 100K.

On an 84 cent product.

It just goes to show what can be done with a small, simple, straightforward idea, done well, with good quality. I love the whole idea of this place. It is what it is, makes no excuses, makes people happy, and laughs all the way to the bank. I am comforted knowing that this possibility exists in this day and time. I feel certain when the revolution comes, you'll still be able to get a good hotdog at Bill's. And that is worth its weight in gold.

Hotdogs, anyone?

Have a great evening!