Selling hot dogs in Spain: licences and eating habits hold the business back

Street hot dogs: the business Spain won't let you set up

In the wake of the crisis, with unemployment soaring and town councils strapped for cash, the idea of setting up a hot dog cart in a busy square resurfaces every so often. The appeal is obvious: a basic cart costs less than 3,000 euros and American movies have been giving the invention free advertising for decades. In Spain, however, street food vending runs into a wall of municipal licences, health inspections and a culture that prefers a sit-down menu to eating on the go. The question is not whether the business would work, but why it remains almost impossible.

The cost of entry: under 3,000 euros for a cart

The initial investment is not the problem. A hot dog cart imported from the United States can be had for less than 3,000 euros, according to the prices quoted by the vendors of this equipment themselves. Some even calculate that, with a converted van and a bit of ingenuity, you can start out for similar figures. The appeal is that the product's raw materials cost next to nothing: bread, sausage and sauces. According to a calculation circulating in the forum, in 1992, at a convenience store chain, the cost of the bun and sausage came to less than 10 pesetas and it sold for almost 200 together with a soft drink. That margin explains why in New York some people pay 15,000 dollars a month for a licence on Wall Street, according to one participant.

The bureaucratic wall: licences, health rules and town councils

The first obstacle is legal. Street vending is generally prohibited in most Spanish municipalities, and town councils only allow it at fairs, markets or one-off events. To operate in public you need a municipal licence that is rarely granted for fixed stands on busy streets. On top of that come the health requirements: a food handling certificate, inspection of the stand with a mandatory supply of running water and a sink, and approval of the cart. Several participants point out that, with those requirements, it works out cheaper to set up a kitchen van and park on private land, as food trucks do, than to try to legalise a cart on the street.

A culture of sit-down menus versus the street hot dog

There is one factor that appears in no ordinance: habit. In Spain, eating in the street while walking is frowned upon. A simple sandwich or a slice of pizza in the centre of a city draws disapproving looks, especially if you are well dressed. The average Spaniard has two hours for lunch and prefers to sit down to a set menu with a tablecloth, a tapa and the TV. In New York or London, with barely 30 minutes for lunch, people take to the street and eat standing up. That difference in habits explains why street stalls thrive in some cities and not in others.

Where it does work: fairs, nightlife areas and isolated cases

It is not all prohibition. In Málaga there are stalls selling stuffed potatoes; in Santander, a hot dog van has been running for more than 40 years; in Bilbao, a company offers sausage cart services for events for less than 3,000 euros per booking. In Madrid, some entrepreneurs have toyed with trying their luck in nightlife areas such as Huertas or Malasaña, where the small hours multiply hunger. The calculation is simple: at those hours, a hot dog stand can provide a comfortable living, according to one participant. But the business remains marginal and depends on special permits or municipal tolerance.

The future: more need, more street vending

Economic pressure may change things. With the labour reform and the spending cuts, some anticipate that street vending will grow out of necessity, as happens in Mexico City, where thousands of stalls occupy the streets. Town councils, short of cash, could be forced to regularise the trade and charge for licences. Others believe the business will not take off until consumption habits and working hours change. For now, the hot dog cart remains an idea that works better on screen than on the pavement.

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[CITA]"In the USA, the people selling sausages from carts are those close to the margins of society, with alcohol problems etc."[/CITA]

[CITA]"In Spain, with 2 hours for lunch and an extreme sense of entitlement, eating quickly and in the street is for poor people."[/CITA]

[CITA]"In New York I met a guy who got a licence to set up a stand right on Wall Street. He made $15,000 a month working less than 6 hours, Monday to Friday."[/CITA]