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The McDonald's or Burger King of HotDogs

BrucetonGuy

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I have always been puzzled as to why there wasn't a nationwide (worldwide) hot dog franchise. I know that Sonic has started really pushing their variety of hotdogs and that there are local and statewide franchises of hotdog shops (Zack's in MD and Michigan and Wienerschnitzel in the west and southwest) but nothing has reached the scale of a McDonald's, BurgerKing, Wendy's, etc. Why do you think this is? There are TONS of burger joints but few hot dog shops. Could this be an opportunity?
 
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SHHDlove

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It very well could be, but I doubt it. Trying to start a restaurant in this economy, though, on nothing more an inclination that hot dogs could work seems like a bad idea.

Then again, maybe you should try a hot dog food truck. That's actually kind of a cool idea.
 

CarrieW

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I think it may be due to the fact that alot of people think hot dogs r gross. I personally love them!

the hot dog places that you see on like man vs food and hot dog paradise on travel channel seem to do really really well so idk.

also theres alot of places that sell food that have hot dogs on their menus(usually kids menus). and almost all gas stations /convience stores have hot dogs already.


idk what youll find out but I think its worth looking into. good luck!
 

Kak

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Do it I LOVE HOT DOGS!!!!

Please use houston as your epicenter.
 
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CarrieW

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you know all this talk of hot dogs makes me want 1 lol. I think I will call hubby at work and make him bring some home for lunch!
 

MCD

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What about Nathan's Famous? They aren't exclusively hot dogs, but McDonalds isn't exclusively burgers either. They're international and all across the United States.
 

MCD

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I suppose I forgot about Nathan's! Thanks!
No problem, didn't mean to stop you from going ahead with your idea! Just wanted to make sure you were aware of everything before jumping in.
 

CarrieW

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I have heard of nathans.

but i have lived in 4 different states and not one of them had a nathans anywhere. the closest one I knew of was at the beach.

I say investigate still. if it interests you, you owe it to yourself to at least look into it.
 

CarrieW

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yeah the ones at the beach are either in jersey or ny.

I have lived in jersey pa fla and ga all east coast. all with no nathans lol.
 
D

DeletedUser397

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Hot dog stands are doing quite well actually. In fact, I've read about some people making roughly $80k+ in the right locations. Startup cost is minimal, and all you need to invest in is a stand, probably some food licensing, transportation, and then the food itself. I don't have any personal experience with this, but I read this article a while back on some people making $10k+/mo in the right locations:

"Hot Dog-Prenuers" | Nightly Business Report | PBS (talks about making roughly $10k/mo in the right location)
 
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Kak

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Well franchising that business model out could be fastlane for sure!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk
 
Jul 5, 2011
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Thoughtful question! But if we start thinking like this, then there will be chains of every fast food. But I appreciate your thought you can go ahead with the idea.
 

healthstatus

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Dairy Queen, Dog & Suds and A&W all have a various selection of options on hot dogs. With the marketing depts of the big players, I would assume they market tested hot dogs and found them to be less than profitable.
 
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rc08234

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There is a Nathan's on the atlantic city boardwalk right near ceasers. They are even open late till like 3 or 4 in the morning during summer
 

InMotion

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While I know nothing about the restaurant industry; lookup this guy for some motivation. He's super fastlane in my opinion. He was on secret millionaire also. May have been posted before, but he made like 60 million off of chicken fingers and fries; he’s under 40 still I think. Check it out on youtube, I believe hes on there also.

Todd Graves | Raising Cane's | Secret Millionaire | Chicken Fingers | Cane's Sauce
 

futhey

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Tons of delicious varieties of hot dogs around the world that are virtually unknown to most Americans. Some are quite creative. Pukadogs (Hawaii) being one of my favourites (Although Latin America produces some creative twists on the hot dog). Sounds interesting!
 

Idella

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There's a hot dog place here in Philly on South Street. I can't remember the name of it but the Hot Dog I had from there was pretty good. I tend to think of hot dogs as being made of random parts of animals. A hot dog place with a world wide variety of hot dogs and sausages would be cool. With dozens of toppings, different breads and sauces...
 

Rickson9

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http://japadog.com has a nice following in Canada and they just opened up a location in NYC. It's hard to believe that they started it all with a single dog cart.
 
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Z5 FILMS

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Tons of delicious varieties of hot dogs around the world that are virtually unknown to most Americans. Some are quite creative. Pukadogs (Hawaii) being one of my favourites (Although Latin America produces some creative twists on the hot dog). Sounds interesting!


There's:


James Coney Island

James Coney Island - Houston original hot dogs since 1923, serving great burgers, chili and chicken too!


Wienerschnitzel

Wienerschnitzel - Premium Hot Dogs and Sausages - Derlicious
 

The-J

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JAPADOG - JAPADOG - Japanese style Hot dog in Canada has a nice following in Canada and they just opened up a location in NYC. It's hard to believe that they started it all with a single dog cart.

Japadog is awesome. My favorite is the Okonomi dog. (For all you NY guys here, it's in St. Marks)

I maintain that Nathan's has some of the best, though.
 
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The-J

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I just looked at their website...and my mouth is watering!

Unfortunately, you're pretty far from both their locations: Vancouver and New York. But if you do find yourself in one of those places, definitely check out Japadog. Yes it's pricey (like $8 for a damn hot dog!) but it's worth it.
 

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