Today we’d like to introduce you to Adrienne Benedetto.
Hi Adrienne, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
We moved here from Brick New Jersey back in April 2014, right after we made it through Hurricane Sandy. We came here to Maryland with just about only household items and our clothes. We are a family of seven. My husband and I have five children ranging now in ages 30 through 13. After arriving in Maryland we found jobs and started to rebuild everything from nothing. We went from living in a two-bed hotel room in Laurel to renting a beautiful home in Gambrills.
Since being here it’s not like Jersey where you can go out and find a Hotdog truck on any corner. For quick some time we started to realize a hot dog truck would probably be an investment that would do well. We even said if we ever did it, we would have to use the only hot dog that we use in Jersey. That one and only hot dog that gives you that snap as you bite into it.
After my accident in 2015, it caused me to no longer be able to work and gave my husband extra stress on having to support the household on just his salary. Just a few short months before the pandemic hit, my husband and I made the decision to purchase a food trailer and bring the concept of selling a piece of New Jersey here in Maryland.
The pandemic caused us to rush the process as my husband lost his maintenance job as he was categorized as a non-essential worker. With everything shutting down and crowds not being allowed, I started reaching out to communities and offered to bring our truck to the residents so they could still enjoy the food trucks without having to be in a crowded environment.
It started at pools and exploded from there. We were being called non-stop to cone into communities, parties were being booked and with restaurants closed or on restrictions, our food truck had no restrictions and we began making it safe for people to come to us or for us to go to them. From last year to now we have been growing steadily and are sobever grateful to everyone that reaches out to us to book us. Unfortunately, I have had to turn alot of business away as our calendar doesn’t have enough days to help everyone that wants us to visit or book us for their party or pool.
We had our business founded in February of 2020 and have been open since June of 2020.
We are family-owned and family-run.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Struggles are basically in the previous statement.
No, it has not been a smooth ride, we have had many obstacles from the purchase of the trailer to now. The person we purchased the trailer from sold us a Lemon. We have invested about as much as we paid for it to buy new equipment, makes some repairs, put a suppression system and more. We are still trying to get the trailer to a point where we can run with no issues, but you need to make money to spend money to fix things.
We are running on the last legs of our vehicle that pulls the trailer. It’s been a snowball effect of the loss of money because of a businessman that used the pandemic to take advantage of us and many others as I found out. We are still working to recoup money but it’s gonna take at least another year to get ahead of the game.
We’ve been impressed with The Hotdog Hideout , but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are more than just a Hot dog truck. The pandemic caused us to revamp our original menu. When calling around to pools we realized parents (just like ourselves) want to be able to feed the children and not break the bank doing so). We sell only one of the best hot dogs sold in NJ, and that is the NY Sabrett all beef Hot dog in its natural casing. It’s gluten-free and it has a juicy garlic flavor and you can get that with any other brand of Hot dog and no one is in Maryland sells it.
You post or say “Dirty Water Dog” and all the New Yorkers and New Jersey people know exactly what we are saying and are excited to find us because they miss that taste of home. We also sell chicken breast tenders that are moist and juicy, French Fries, or ion rings, Mozzarella sticks, and lots of sides like Mac n cheese wedges, Zucchini Sticks, broccoli and Cheese Bites and so much more.
We also have another specialty which is our sorbets that we sell during the summer. These little gems have people talking about them and coming back for more. We have then shipped in directly from. Florida. You may find one or two flavors sold here, but there are so many other delicious flavors not sold here. It’s sorbet in their natural fruit shells. Delicious and very refreshing on a hot summers day.
We are also very proud of our funnel cakes a deep-fried oreos. Basically, you can say it’s like being at a fair without the fair and the prices are very reasonable.
We created a menu that kids love and at prices parents approve of. Being parents of 5 we know the struggles of feeding kids and paying astromical food truck prices. On our truck there is something for everyone,
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I wish I had someone to mentor me and help me along the way. I’ve learned it on my own by asking the county I live in any questions I had. Everyone I came in contact with was very supportive and willing to offer their advice or services to us. I do have to give a huge thank you to Julianna White from the Department of Health and the Anne Arundel County Fire Marshal for walking us through what we needed to get licensed and ready to work safely in Maryland.
They have been so patient with me as I constantly bombarded them with questions and concerns. They responded in the most friendliest, respectful and professional manner I have ever come across. They made what seemed an impossible endeavor since we didn’t know anything about what we were getting into, a stress-free process.
Contact Info:
- Email: Thehotdoghideout@gmail.com
- Website: www.thehotdoghideout.com
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/theHotdogHideout
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/Thehotdoghideout
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/HideoutHotdog
