Rob Merlino

I am the Hotdogman

I was a hotdogman for 6 years. I had the time of my life and I made some decent change doing it. Unfortunately, I had some health issues in 2009 that forced me to sell my second hot dog truck and suspend my business. I decided to go into teaching, so I returned to school in the fall of 2009 (on crutches) to begin work toward teacher licensure and a Master’s Degree.&nbsp;<div><br></div><div>My ultimate plan is to be teaching and working a hot dog business in the summer months and weekends. I started the Hot Dog Truck blog in early 2007 as a way to advertise my Hot Dog Truck online. Through the months and years that followed, I became interested in blogging and started many other sites. Some were successful, some were not, but I learned a lot about blogging and making money online. I keep the Hot Dog Truck “open” because it’s a fairly popular site- I get between 300-500 page views a day here. The site is supposed to be “the life and times of a Hotdogman,” so it’s kind of a mish mash of a personal blog, a “how to” site and an entertainment site. Basically, that site contains what’s on my mind on any given day.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Many people went to The Hot Dog Truck dot com looking for information because they want to start their own hot dog business. Since I am still somewhat of an “expert” in the hot dog vending world, I started a site called How to Start a Hot Dog Business to help people interested in starting their own business. I know of a half a dozen local “proteges” in my area and I get emails from all over the world from folks wishing to start a hot dog business. Helping folks get started has become one of the most rewarding things I’ve done with my various sites.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>I also started a site called Hot Dog Stories where I go around to different hot dog carts, trailers, trucks, diners and even brick and mortar joints. This concept originated when I tried to get readers of The Hot Dog Truck to submit stories about their favorite hot dog spots; they’d send a story along and I published them. The few reader submissions are still on the site. The current concept took shape when I visited Lucky Dog in Venice, FLA with my kids. We took pictures of our food and I wrote a post about it. After that visit, the site languished for a couple of years. In the summer of 2010, I resurrected Hot Dog Stories because there just weren’t any other sites like it: stories about the little known places that are ubiquitous-yet largely ignored by media of any kind. I made it my mission to seek these places out and introduce them to the world. I travel to a new spot 2-3 times a week for lunch and take pictures of my food, do a little write up about how the vendor got into the business and give the hot dog vendors some free publicity. It’s not a “review” site, although a friend and I are working on that concept, it’s just a way for folks who want to get into the hot dog business can see how others are doing it successfully. The site is also for people who either like a good hot dog or a good story. I try to limit visits to hot dog trucks, carts, or trailers but I also seek out iconic places as well.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>This site is rapidly gaining exposure and readership and I predict it will be more popular than any of my sites in the near future. One vendor I interviewed called me “the Phantom Gourmet of Hot Dogs!” I prefer to be called the “Ambassador to Hot Dog Nation.” Either way, I can only hope to be so popular some day.</div><div><br></div><div>The success of Hot Dog Stories prompted me to launch this documentary film project which I hope to get off the ground this summer during National Hot Dog Month 2012.</div>

About Me

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