Do you want chips and a drink with that?

News

by Max Marbut

Staff Writer

In every major city in America, there’s one urban core lunch option that’s never hard to find and Downtown is no exception. If you’re any kind of carnivore, there’s a good chance there has been a hot dog in some of your midday meal plans.

Many of Downtown’s traditional sandwich shops and delis have hot dogs on the menu. At the Landing, there’s a choice of local favorite Orange Tree hot dogs, Nathan’s at Flamers or you can stop in at Chicago Pizza, the restaurant that specializes in Windy City-style wieners.

Nothing creates a big city experience like grabbing a hot dog or two from a vendor on the sidewalk. The carts’ bright umbrellas make the vendors hard to miss and the aroma of hot dogs and smoked sausages grilling makes it almost impossible to pass by without sampling some of Downtown’s quickest cuisine.

Some of Downtown’s hot dog sellers have been plying their trade and feeding hungry office workers, construction crews, conventioneers and visitors at the same spots for years.

Ernest Barr has been setting up his cart in front of the Yates Building on Forsyth Street for more than a decade. Originally from Gambia, West Africa, Barr said his first job when he came to America revolved around hot dogs.

“As soon as I arrived in Miami in 1974, I got a job at Nathan’s. I worked there part-time while I went to college,” he said.

Barr sets up shop most mornings and well before noon, the aroma of hot dogs on the grill is spreading for blocks, depending on the direction of the breeze.

“I’m here every day, weather permitting. I stay home only if it’s raining or if it’s going to over 100 degrees,” said Barr.

Three blocks west of Barr’s cart, Elton Turner has been selling hot dogs, chips and drinks at the corner of Forsyth and Laura streets for more than 13 years. He’s easily recognizable because he flies an American flag on his cart and almost always wears a bright Hawaiian shirt.

Turner said people might think selling hot dogs on the street is an easy job, but there’s more to it than they might think.

“It’s a lot to do and it’s hard work,” he said. “I work a couple of hours every morning getting my cart ready, then I sell hot dogs from about 10 a.m.-3 p.m., then there’s about another hour of work cleaning up when I get home. It’s still an 8-5 job and I go shopping and do maintenance on the weekends.”

Consistency is the key to success in the hot dog game, said Turner. He’s on his corner almost every day people are working Downtown, and in all types of weather. He even works most holidays – but never on Thanksgiving Day.

“When it rains I’m still here. I just stand under my umbrella and sell hot dogs to people who walk up with their umbrellas,” he added.

You’ll find the largest hot dog stand Downtown at Hemming Plaza. For more than six years, Kim Peavler has been selling hot dogs, chili cheese dogs, chips and cold drinks in front of City Hall and the Museum of Contemporary Art.

“It’s a great atmosphere here in the plaza,” she said.

Peavler first set up her stand when the Main Library was being built. Her business started with construction workers and she still feeds quite a few of them today when they walk to her stand from the site of the new County Courthouse.

Peavler has found her location at Hemming Plaza offers other sales opportunities and said she does more business on Fridays when the market is open. She also keeps the grill going into the evening one day each month for First Wednesday Art Walk.

Being outdoors and making new friends are two advantages of being in the business.

“I worked in an office for 13 years before I opened my cart. This is much better,” said Peavler.

“I have two kinds of customers,” commented Barr. “I have my regulars who work Downtown and then there are the people who come to the tax collector’s or property appraiser’s offices. In front of the Yates Building is a great location.”

Turner said he has seen some of the same faces almost every day since the first time he opened his umbrella and lit the gas grill on May 6, 1996.

“We’ve grown old together,” he added.