At Your Service / The people behind the scenes
Cloudy? There’s still a chance for hot dogs
On a sunny summer afternoon, while shoppers and office workers on break crowd M&T Plaza in downtown Buffalo, selling hot dogs for a living looks like a pretty sweet gig.
Don’t be surprised, though, if Tim McMahon looks to the heavens as he gets you two with mustard and onions. In a town that has its share of weather-obsessed folks, nobody watches the skies like the hot dog guy.
The weather “is so important, I can’t stress it enough,” said McMahon, who owns five of Buffalo’s Best Dogs carts, three of which are set up along Main Street most days.
McMahon, 42, who has been selling hot dogs for 25 years, checks several forecasts every morning and evening. It’s self-defense.
When a storm front comes off Lake Erie, and people wonder if they left a car window open, McMahon has bigger problems.
“How close is the rain? How windy is it going to be?” McMahon said. “Is it going to break another umbrella today?”
Still, on a temperate summer day, his carts can go through 100 pounds of Wardynski’s wieners.
“When you get a stretch of really nice weather early in the year, that’s the go time,” said McMahon.
What do people not understand about selling hot dogs?
“I think people are under the impression that it just magically appears on the street, stocked and ready to go. You’re there, what an easy job. There are people asking all the time, ‘I gotta get me one of these. I should have done this.’ It’s like, you’ve got no idea. I don’t even go there anymore with people.”
You start explaining it takes work and they lose interest.
“People don’t understand the work it takes before and after you’re on the street. There’s getting your supplies, stocking the cart, cleaning it at the end of the day, towing it. Then the maintenance that comes with it. They take a beating out there on the street. There’s a lot of towing involved. Things break, wheels seize.”
So why are the food choices from Buffalo street carts so limited?
“The Health Department restricts a lot of the foods that people would be interested in eating. I had a business plan prepared for the Health Department, for possibly making a hot beef on weck cart. They said, ‘Save your breath, don’t even bother presenting it to us.’ ”
So there’s no reasonable way to serve beef from a cart without poisoning people?
“They’re very concerned with precooked product. They’re worried about spoilage. If stuff is not kept cold enough before it hits the warm surface, you’ve got problems with bacteria.”
Albany has a tamale guy. Manhattan has chicken and rice carts. I’m jealous.
“I think if we were to broaden our menu too much, you could be stepping on the toes of other small businesses, restaurants in the area that serve that menu item. It may not be fair to them. We do what we do.”
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