Thread by @theSamParr

I tweeted about my hot dog business, Southern Sam's: Weiner's as Big as a Baby's Arm. A few people asked me questions. Here is the story...

In 2011 I met a guy named Mike Wolfe while living in Nashville. He was the main guy on the tv show American Pickers. I convinced Mike to let me work at his new store.

Hundreds, sometimes thousands of people would lineup to come to the store. It'd be hot outside. But there wasn't a place to eat or get drinks. A guy named Doc came to the store a ton and told me he had a hot dog stand in storage that he'd rent me. So, I decided to give it a shot.

I didn't end up working outside of Mike's store, but found another popular location outside a music venue (Station Inn). I researched the law, which required that stands be 14 feet from the street + other rules.

I went to the venue during the day and asked the owner if I had his blessing to be outside of his building. He gave me the ok. Next, I found a commissary aka a place to prepare the food (needed by law). I didn't have $, I asked the bar owners if I could use their kitchens.

By law, you need a commissary. The bar agreed. So, I then got the health department to get to approve my rig and got a business license and encroachment permit at the DMV. I think it cost $15 or something. Maybe $75?

After this, I used my license to get access to Restaurant Depot, a bulk food store. I went there and bought $500 worth of supplies and a few brands of dogs and onions. I started with Vienna beef dogs, mustard packets, onions for the grill, soda +water, and chips.

The night before launching, I did a test run at home. I prepared the stuff in the kitchen and used the cart in my driveway to test. I had the entire hood come by and eat for free as a test run. We had a tightknit community, so it was so fun, like a block party.

A funny memory because it was next door to the projects and I was the only white guy in the area. So the cops stopped by because they saw the whitest guy ever handing out dogs to like 20 dudes in the projects. Was funny. I still hang/talk to many of those guys. Super fun.

So, about 3 weeks after deciding to do this and getting my stuff together, I opened for the first day. It was ghetto at first...I only had a poster to hold to get customers. Dogs were $3, sausages were $4, cokes $1, chips $1.

After a while, I finally got a chalkboard as a sign. This allowed me to change the prices. Day time prices were cheaper and I'd double the price at night as the drunk people would pay more.

I'd work 10:30 to 3 on my corner. Then I'd go to class (I was in college still and made my classes at night). I eventually contacted a radio station and they let me work their summer concert series.

Most days were $100-$500 days. At night or during a concert I could do really well. $1k, $2k, sometimes higher. Square was new, but I used it and would charge 4 cents to use a credit card. I'd also work track meets, hs sports, and things like that. Would sell gatorade + dogs

Eventually, I could hire some friends. @CarlyFra and Rydell were my best buds. Carly went to college with me and Rydell was my neighbor. I loved him. He had spent 25 years in prison for assault + had gold teeth. We all hung out each night and it was sooo fun.

Rydell would work the stand when I had class and he'd get most the day's profit. At night, Rydell loved wearing a black leather jacket and leather gloves and people used to ask if we were famous and he was the bodyguard. We'd just chill at the stand, slinging dogs + drinking beer

Sometimes Nashville would have big street music festivals and I'd sleep on the street for 2-4 nights so I could get the best corner and never leave that corner. I would make thousands. Carly or Rydell would watch the stand so I could go to class or shower.

But it was hard ass work. I used to get these horrible sun burns. It taught me how to work super hard.

To get customers, I'd yell ALLLL BEEEFFF pretty much all day. I tried talking to everyone and just sell sell sell. Also, I'd grill onions ALL THE TIME. Even if people didn't buy, the smell attracted people. I grilled the onions in coke to make em sweet.

Sometimes homeless people would come asking for free stuff. So I'd give them meals + some money in exchange for work, like getting me a bag of ice or holding signs or sweeping or whatever.

One time this young Jamaican guy just started hanging out. Eventually, I found out that he came here for work and was laid off and lived on the streets as he couldn't afford a ticket home. I knew him for a bit. He was 100% sober and his story was true.

I didn't have much money then, but he'd work for me and I'd pay him. I don't know what happened to him, but maybe he got home.

Anyway, it was a cool time. It taught me how to work my ass off, how to sell, how to take care of shit, and how there are no excuses for getting shit done! It also taught me that making money online was much easier! But damn it was fun.

Long live Southern Sams! I still get calls from Yelp asking to advertise my listing with them. Who knows, maybe I'll start this guy up again.