PIKE BAY- More than a few opening day anglers likely did a doubletake here on Saturday when they saw a hot dog cart and a woman wearing a hot dog costume floating by on the water. It was the launch, literally, of a new business— the Lake Vermilion Weiner Cruiser— the brainchild of Wade and Vicki Danielson.
The Danielson’s were on the lake angling for sales, pushing hot dogs and all the fixings for five bucks a shot, with boat-side drive-through service, plus stops at a few area docks.
“I’d been thinking about having a hot dog cart ever since I was a kid,” said Wade. “I had read an article in ‘Reader’s Digest’ about how a hot dog cart was a great way to make a living and only work part-time.”
Danielson, who does work full-time at his barbershop in Silver Bay, and his wife Vicki, who runs her own cleaning business, spend weekends in the summer at their camper parked at Aronson Boat Works, where he is a part-time mailboat driver and occasional handyman.
“We’ve been spending summers at Aronson’s for 20 years,” he said. “And for the past 15 years, I’d been thinking about the hot dog stand. Last year I decided to do it!”
Danielson built the cart, with help from a friend who is a marine fabricator who designed the propane cooktop, making sure the cart would get certified and permitted by the health department as food safe.
“The guy who did the inspection said he had never passed anything homemade before,” Danielson said. “He was very impressed.”
Danielson also passed the food safety class that is required to serve food to the public, and his business is now insured.
The hot dogs are being made to order by the meat department at the Babbitt Zup’s Store. They are a little larger than Zup’s regular homemade hot dogs, so they hang out, just a little, from each side of the bun. The buns and all the condiments also are coming fresh from Zup’s each week.
The cart is floating on a 17-ft. long raft, which is then tied onto the side of his 23 ft. pontoon boat, keeping it stable enough to cook up and service hot dogs, unless the winds get too strong. “We were able to go between two and six miles per hour,” he said.
Opening weekend was the first time they had the raft out on the lake, and it proved a success. Fishing boats cruising by stopped by to see what was going on, and apparently lots of them decided to buy a dog.
“We sold out on Saturday,” he said. “Everyone was so excited to see it. Everybody loved it.”
The hot dogs themselves got rave reviews from two customers contacted by the Timberjay.
Danielson said they can be out on the water for about four hours, before having to come back in to restock, if needed. On Saturday they tried offering chili dogs, but they found that it was just a bit too messy to serve and eat out on a boat.
“We still have a lot to learn,” he said.
Danielson said they expect to be out on the water every other weekend, weather-permitting, this summer, alternating weekends between the weiner cruiser and driving the mailboat for Aronson’s.
“But we had so much fun this weekend,” he said. “We might add in some afternoons after the mailboat run.”
And while based in Pike Bay, they hope to bring hot dog fun to many other parts of the lake. They will be posting their weekend schedules on their facebook page, Lake Vermilion Weiner Cruiser. A Lake Vermilion shore lunch might never be the same!