I spend a fair amount of time researching business opportunities here and abroad. Today I was chatting with some expats living on Margarita Island, Venezuela. We were talking about business opportunities when the prospect of curbside vending was mentioned. Sidewalk hot dog, popcorn, and ice cream cream vendors are in short supply even though the demand is high and the barriers to entry are non-existent. For sh*i*ts and giggles I started looking into the requirements for selling a curbside hot dog in downtown Buffalo.

Feel free to correct me if any of this is wrong. It is only preliminary research...

Buffalo Place controls all of the vendor licensing in the downtown main street corridor. Their poorly designed website states:

Buffalo Place manages the Downtown core surrounding the pedestrian mall, which was developed as part of the Light Rail Rapid Transit Project. Buffalo Place activities are partially funded by special charges paid over and above property taxes within Downtown's Special Charge District. The Special Charge District includes Main, Pearl and Washington Streets from Goodell Street to the Buffalo River. Some constituent properties include HSBC Center, Main Place Mall, Hyatt Regency Buffalo, M&T Plaza, Key Center, Ellicott Square, Rand Building, Main-Seneca Building, The Brisbane Building and the majority of Downtown's large office buildings.
http://www.buffaloplace.com/aboutus/about.html

So Buffalo Place is mandated to extract an additional tax from those wishing to do business in the main street corridor.

The hot dog vending industry has reasonably low startup costs in regards to equipment and operation. Fixed costs include a hot dog cart and a truck to pull it around with. Variable costs are inventory, labor, and equipment storage. Seems simple enough, right? I setup a hot dog cart in an area with a substantial amount of pedestrian traffic and sell hot dogs. Those of the hungry variety might act in their best interests and exchange $2 for a hunger quenching hot dog. The cleanliness of my cart, the quality of my Salen's dog, the availability of accessory hot dog "fixins", and the friendly demeanor of the employee operating the stand would differentiate me from the vendor up the street, no?

Now let's look at the regulatory costs of running a hot dog cart.

Willy-dog , a well established franchiser of the popular Willy-dog , Wee-Willy, and Mini-Willy hot dog cart provides this useful information in their FAQ:

Q. How much does a license cost?
A. Anything from free to about $300 a year
How much does Buffalo Place, a "not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the economic health and quality of life in Downtown Buffalo", extract from those attempting to improve the quality of life in downtown Buffalo? According to their application, the following regulations and fees are required:

1. A completed, notarized application for a license to vend or peddle(Attached).
2. Two passport sized photos of each applicant.
3. General liability and product liability insurance coverage of $500,000 naming the City of Buffalo as a co-insured.
4. A New York State Sales Tax Certificate or proof of application.
5. If a food vendor, proof of application for Erie County Department of Health permit to operate a permanent Food Service Establishment, anda copy of the receipt for payment of the fee.
6. Any other permits required by any other statute.
7. Two personal references (must be residents of City of Buffalo).
8. Police background check for first time applicants ($10.00 fee).
9. Photo of your vending cart for review and approval.
10. Check or money order payable to "City of Buffalo, Division of Licenses"(Cash will not be accepted).
NOTE:A separate application must be filed for each location.

Let's break down those costs:
1. Notary - $15
2. Passport photos - $15
3. Liability insurance - $100 - ???
4 - NYS Sales tax cert - $35?
5 - Application to the dept of health - ???
6 - Any other permits - How the hell would you know? The application isn't clear.
7 - Two personal references that must be buffalo residents - $25 in gas and hassle.
8 - Police background check - $10
9 - Photo of your vending cart - $2
10 - Permit fee - $315 annually!!!!!!!!

In addition, a "peddler's permit" fee is extracted. $63.

At a minimum it will cost you around $525 just to sell one hot dog in Buffalo! And you haven't even bought your cart or paid the overhead yet.

Call me old fashioned, but I'm the type of folk that takes their chances with hot dogs, deli sandwiches, or nachos. Sometimes you take your life into your own hands when you eat.

It gets better, or worse depending on the direction your gun is pointed...

Buffalo Place has decided you need to meet certain performance requirements if you want to sell a hot dog.

Performance Requirements/Regulations

Vendors may retain vending sites for succeeding years if they renew their permits, have no complaints on file, and have a record of meeting the performance requirements listed below:
1.Vendors may only locate at sites they are approved to use.
2.Vendors may only sell merchandise they are approved to sell. Changes in merchandise must be approved by Buffalo Place Inc.
3.Annual vendors must vend 15 hours per week over at least four days per week between May and October 15, and two hours per day for at least 20 days between October 15 and April 15.
4.Vendors must wear neat and clean clothing, and shoes and shirts are required. Aprons are required in the restricted area, and are available in the Buffalo Place office.
5.Vendors must vend from a sturdy, attractive handcart with wheels that can be managed by one individual. Tables, or other pedestrian obstructions, are prohibited.
6.Name of vending cart must be attractively and professionally displayed.
7.Menu or merchandise listings must be professionally painted or handwritten on an attractive permanently affixed chalk or marker board. Handwritten cardboard signs will not be allowed.
8.Licenses must be displayed in a standard location.
9.Vendors are required to remove trash or take it to a trash collection site. Vendors may not use public trash receptacles.
10.No license granted may be sold, leased, or assigned in any fashion.
11.Carts must be removed from the Special District each day.
12. Employees of vendors must each have a City of Buffalo-issuedPeddler’s Permit, in addition to the annual site permit.

Analysis:
1 - Don't step on someone else's turf.
2 - After days of providing Hunt's Ketchup I decide to switch to Heinz. I'll need to document this.
3 - If Buffalo Place declares you are a worthy hot dog salesman your ass better be selling hot dogs.
4 - As opposed to the jungle pants and wife-beater shirt that is a sure crowd pleaser?
5 - An over-fed member of Buffalo Place will sit on your cart to determine sturdiness. Attractiveness will be determined by the preservation society.
6 - If a professional presentation cannot be achieved a picture of stalin will be an acceptable substitute.
7 - No creativity allowed.
8 - I have a big ass. I'll stick it there.
9 - As opposed to allowing the trash to pile up beside my cart. Customers love that.
10 - Unless you are the government.
11 - How nice! The government is genuinely concerned that my cart might get stolen if I leave it unattended overnight in a deserted downtown.
12 - See response #8. I promise to hire only fat chicks.

Suppose I choose to play along. My hot dogs are approved. The condiments received the necessary seal of approval. The cart is spotless. I've decided to dress in the proper attire and make the hot dog purchasing area safe for my patrons. The menu was professionally designed and not easily changed. My vendor's license if firmly affixed om my ass. Now comes the hard part: securing the location.

Buffalo Place, with their uncanny ability to determine where people would most likely purchase a hot dog, have developed a "Master List". (Note to those with heart problems: They do call it a "Master List" and it is established by a "Director of Licenses". I crap you not.)

Site Selection

A.Master list. Choices for sites shall be selected from available sites on the Downtown Special District master list, published each year by the Director of Licenses. A listing of available sites is attached to each vendor application.
B.Applications will be reviewed based on past vending experience, uniqueness of goods, and provision of references.
C.Competition for identical sites. If there is competition for a site among similarly qualified vendors, the decision will be made by city lottery.
NOTE:Maximum of three (3) sites per person.

Here we go again...
A. Obviously hot dog salesmen aren't smart enough to determine where a hot dog should be sold.
B. A perfect conundrum: If you've never sold a hot dog you aren't qualified to do so. If you've sold a hot dog you weren't licensed. Uniqueness will be determined by the government. Is the Federal food pyramid able to distinguish between french fries and pomme frites? No. References? Wolfgang Puck would vouch for me, but that would require him to accept the fact that I sold him a hot dog without a license.
C. Hmmm...perhaps we need to close any Burger King operating on an adjacent corner from McDonalds. Even the most socialist urban planner would agree that many competing businesses within close proximity to each other create a distinguished marketplace.

Let's recap:

1. Selling one curbside hot dog in Buffalo will cost at least $525.
2. Buffalo Place, a "not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the economic health and quality of life in Downtown Buffalo" uses regulatory taxes to achieve their goals.
3. My ass is big.

Now apply these regulations proportionately to the businesses in downtown Buffalo that don't receive welfare. Is there any question why downtown is a ghost town?


The entire vendor application is available here:
HTML form: http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:...ense&hl=en</a>
PDF form: http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:...ense&hl=en</a>