Faces of Rochester
The Hot Dog Guy
By Laurie Mona
It will be the fourth year Rick has manned the popular outdoor hot dog stand during the warmer months, usually open from April to October. He doesn’t plan to reopen the second stand which he ran by the library last summer, but hopefully will be adding another location to be announced this spring.
On a typical day he sells anywhere from 40-100 dogs, but he’s not in it for the money. “I want to be talking to people; anybody can go sell a hot dog. I don’t care if they don’t buy anything; I have something to do that I enjoy. I make it a point to visit with people. The best thing about my job is getting to be around people, I like to be outside. With the wide variety of people, it’s like going to the State Fair every day. I have so much fun, during the winter I go through a little withdrawal.”
Rick calls his hot dog business “my non-retirement hobby. I worked for pretty much my whole life, 37 years, in one industry. I was fortunate to sell the business, and when my wife suggested I was too young to play golf all day, it sounded like a fun thing to do.”