Michigan teen forced to shut down hot dog cart business by city, sells cart for a profit
A Michigan teen’s hot dog cart is shut down by city, too young for business license.
The 13-year-old teen is earning money to assist his disabled parents.
City officials told Nathan Duszynski that his cart was in violation of a Holland zoning law that protects existing food businesses downtown against competition from mobile food vendors, reports the Holland Sentinel.
Food carts can’t set up in the city unless they’re part of an existing restaurant operation. The young entrepreneur is too young for a street vendor’s license, which could have kept the business running.
After attracting national media attention, he sold the cart to a local business, but retains the right to borrow it back for special events that might require hot dogs.
The parents paid for half of the cart, and the teen saved up the rest from gifts and doing chores for neighbors. His family checked with City Hall first before opening up the business, obtained a permit from the county, and assumed that everything was legal. They didn’t know that zoning rules meant that a food business couldn’t open in the planned location.
The family continues to lobby the city for a change in the rules.
Selling a failed venture at a profit has some supporters predicting a bright future in business for this kid.
Nathan’s Hot Dog Hut [Official Site]