Taking a break

After 11 years in vending, Bob, 36, was getting
burned out and short on patience. Every Wednesday
through Saturday night, Bob was in his stand from 9
p.m. to 4 a.m. Each morning afterward, he'd be working
by 8 a.m., getting everything prepared for the
evening's vending. Sunday was generally his free day
to visit with friends and go drinking. Mondays and
Tuesdays were spent making calls and orders and
balancing finances.

Bob had tried to hire other people to run the stand,
but sales went down dramatically when he wasn't the
one vending. But at last spring semester's end, Bob
trained Jamie Cutting to work the stand.
"It gives me a break!" Bob said. "It's made my life a
little easier."

When Bob started vending back in 1990, he was
competing with three other vendors who had cheaper
prices. As well as working Thursdays, Fridays and
Saturdays, Bob started working on Wednesdays to build
a customer base. He figured if he was the only vendor
and people were hungry, they'd pay the higher price.
And Bob's custom cart allowed him to serve customers
more quickly than his competitors with their homemade
carts.

But what really put Bob at the top, he said, was when
customers tried Bob's competitors, and their offerings
just didn't compare to his gyros. "They thought these
were a lot better than what was around the corner or
around the other end," he said.
Within six months, Bob was the only street vendor
downtown.

Then came the trouble with some merchants who wanted
the vending stopped. City council discussed the
matter, which council member Ron Heineking vaguely
recalls was related to concerns about litter.

Bob felt the local merchants were also concerned about
loss of business. Bob explained to the council that he
opened after the restaurants close and that he charged
more for his product than the restaurants. If the
council banned vending, he said he would sue for the
price of the cart and the wages he could make until he
was 65.

"When you've got a college kid who will stand outside
in the cold to buy one of my gyros instead of going
into your nice, warm shop," Bob said, 'then I think
you ought to rethink what you are doing and not worry
about what's coming to me. Instead, you should worry
about what's coming to your door and things will take
care of itself."

Nothing happened until the city came up with the
50-foot law about a year later, which said vendors
must setup at least 50 feet from the entrance of any
restaurant or bar. Bob was in the alley beside Ray's,
so he moved his new cart, which now had a pizza oven
as well as the grill, to his present location beside
the gazebo on the corner of Main and Franklin streets.

"I will never give up that corner," Bob said.

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