How Much Do Hot Dog Vendors Make, Anyway?

The recent eviction of Pasang Sherpa—the hot dog vendor who was booted from outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art after refusing to pay the full $643,000 a year rent to the Parks Department—got us thinking: Why didn't we major in hot dog vending? The previous permit holder outside the museum paid $415,000 annually and didn't go under, so one imagines there's a tidy profit to be made there or other tourist magnets around town. But street vendor advocacy groups tell Slate that selling dogs isn't as glamorous as it might seem, and most food vendors make just $14,000 to $16,000 a year after they've paid for permits (and, inevitably, a few tickets). Vendors on city streets (not the ones at or near park areas) pay $200 a year for the permit, but the city caps the number of permits at 3,100, creating an extensive black market. Some unscrupulous companies buy up permits for dozens of carts and then lease them to individual vendors at highly inflated prices. And now there are these fancy new food trucks horning in! Kenny Lao, an owner of the Rickshaw Dumpling Truck, says his life was threatened by other vendors he opened flast year, telling the Times, "The old vendors are edgy."

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By John Del Signore in Food on August 14, 2009 12:45 PM

Comments [rss]

PayPaul

I'm sure the hotdog vendors could use this gimmick.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paypaul/3148749623/

I wonder how much it set him back. It's probably a corporate vendor. That figures. The Corporations will find any way possible to stick it to the average working guy and small businessman/woman.

monsur

Yeah so how is it that this recent rash of food trucks are able to get proper permits? Were they all acquired on this "black market"?

jamesdamian

Hey John, this is the incorrect usage of "begged the question". Check this for details: http://begthequestion.info/

jchez

Good for you!

I hate it when News anchors and SNL comedians try to show how smart they are in some speech or other and end up misusing this term, thus showing their ignorance.

Other people I hate: New York City lawyers that say "I should have went" or worse yet, "I should of went".

Detweiler

Wow.

John Del Signore

All right, you win.

seven

To insinuate, based on one guy, that food vendors are somehow secret millionaries is disingenuous.

I used to be a food vendor for a few years and here are the facts:

Park concessions are usually rented out to corporations. 95% of the vendors you see working in Central Park are employees (and they're often not treated very well).

Vendors on the sidewalks are independent entrepreneurs. It's hard to put a number on how well they're doing, b/c it varies by spot and by what you sell. For instance, a guy selling really good chicken and rice on Sixth Ave in Midtown where there is a dearth of good cheap restaurants is probably doing quite well for himself, I wouldn't say six figures, but a good living. The average hot dog and pretzel guy in a marginal location, like say a less busy corner on the UWS or in Midtown where there are 10 other hot dog guys w/in a 3 block radius? He's probably pulling in poverty-level wages while working his ass off.

Trying to put a number on how much do vendors make, is like putting a number on how much restaurant owners make. On an individual level varies widely based on 1) how good you are, 2) location, location, location.

Stewart

you forgot one, 3) How much do you report to the IRS?

grandzu

Easy, use a vet to get the license, then use it or rent it out.

Trilby16

You know, this is 100% a cash business. I am guessing that $16K is what goes on the income tax forms. The rest goes under the mattress.

JenChungsBaby

On CPW there are the Parks Department-approved hot dog guys and often a non-Parks Department hot dog guy right across the street -- who sells the same stuff for half the price. You can't even get a plain old 12-ounce Coke from the Parks vendors, they only sell those 20-ounce bottles for $2 at least. Meanwhile at the non-Parks vendor at 96th street you can get a hot dog and a coke for $2.25.

KiljoyWasHere

Picture win.

JMH

I think it's worth noting that the $643k mentioned was for two spots, not one. It's still a lot, but not as much as it seems like if you're drawing revenue from two stands for that much money.

longacre

It's an all cash business, these guys can claim they make whatever they want, and they can charge tourists $10 for a hot dog and a Yoo-Hoo.

valeriob

exactly. do you think these guys legitimately claim the earnings? They probably make closer to 50k off the books.

I Hate The 7 Train

I've always wondered how much those 53rd and 6th Ave guys make ...

valeriob

THEY MAKE MAGIC. Sweet delicious magic.

Mattachine

They'd make a killing in Chelsea, Greenwich, and HK, if the men were were cute, hot, and wore sexy clothes. Try a gimmick for a change.

Rocknrope

C'mon, if it's 14-16K a year, how could they possible make ends meet? You could make more money doing just about anything else if it were that low.

seven

Wow, out of touch with reality much?

AVERAGE income in NYC (from 2000) was about $20,000 a year. Believe it or not, some folks in this city actually don't make six figures. You know that big borough across the 59th st bridge? Yeah they live there. Also in that strange place above Harlem called the Bronx. You may not notice but there are working poor in this city. How much do you think the guy delivering your dinner or washing the dishes at your favorite restaurant makes? Probably even less than what vendors claim.

A lot of vendors do it b/c they don't want to work under abusive conditions in low-wage jobs, and b/c, they actually have these things called "ambition" and "hope" i.e. that as an individual entrepreneur, they're in control and they can work their way up.

Stewart

They're paid in cash, people. They only report $14 - $16 thousand per year.

valeriob

I've never had a hot dog from a street vendor.

Don't think they're dirty or anything, just not worth the temporary appetizer.

Better choices are always just a few short blocks away.