Meet Steve Pruner – Outlaw Hot Dogs

Steve is a hot dog vendor in North Carolina and currently fighting a conviction for selling hot dogs without a license.  His story inspired me, as I hope it does you as well.  Of course I teach to follow the laws and codes so that you can make a living without adding to the headaches of being self employed.

North Carolina, like many states requires food vendors to have a commissary. A place for you to prepare, clean and dispose of your grey water.  Obtaining a commissary can be tough for some.  It requires most vendors to seek and find a commercial restaurant or business with a commercial kitchen.  I teach in my book; “hot dogs saved my life” – many ways to find a great commissary and often without paying a fee.  Sometimes this can be tough.

Essentially you're asking someone to allow you to prep and clean in their commercial kitchen.  In my book I teach you how to present yourself so that it doesn't sound so bad.  We all, well most of us are required to have a commissary.

Some vendors build their own but most find a solution with a local commercial kitchen.

Mr. Steve Pruner doesn't agree with the rule and continued to sell hot dogs without a license.  Because he didn't have a commissary, NC would not inspect his cart and give him a license.  

There is a large part of me that agrees and in the video you will hear from Steve as he explains how ridiculous the rule is.  I honestly wish him luck in his quest to overturn his conviction and possibly remove the code from the books.  Fortunately, Steve has a team of attorneys working to help him on his case.  Best of all they are Constitutional experts.

Many of the rules and codes are in place, not for public heath concerns, although touted as such; but instead to discourage vendors, to create government jobs and to make the general public feel safe.  I spoke with an inspector off the record recently and he stated that his experience going into the big chain restaurants and fast food franchises showed him that the smaller mom and pop style eateries and the street vendors and even our very own residential kitchens are much safer to eat from.  Mr. X told me that in North Carolina, during some events or charity events that vendors aren't required anything.  As in they can go serve whatever they like, no commissary, no license and no guidelines.

Most food poising cases come from restaurants, not home kitchens, stated Mr. X (inspector).  Some foods, which you would not believe if I told you can be served from an open cart in North Carolina, without a commissary, without a license and without any oversight.
If the truth be know, I believe that many of these rules and codes are discriminatory, created solely to protect the restaurants, not the general public.  I could write a book on all I have learned working with vendors about the ridiculous and the Un-Constitutional laws and codes.  Thanks to organizations like Institute for Justice and the NC Institute for Constitutional Law, things are changing and for the better.  The rules and codes are being challenged and many are found to be un-constitutional.  Please join me in supporting these organizations who work to protect our rights.

Watch the videos and tell me what you think about Mr. Pruner's case.   Hopefully we can have him on the Hot Dog Vendor Radio show soon.

Coming Soon:  A cart add on that can make you another $100 or so a day with little effort.