Pushcart vendors offer quick food conveniently By Sheri Met/ler Emerald Contributor If you feel you have no time in the day to sit down and eat. the various pushcart vendors scat tered about Eugene offer a plea sant alternative. Cookie Szakacs owns and operates the hot dog cart located on the corner of 13th Avenue and Kincaid Street Szakacs has been selling hot dogs on that corner for five-and-a-half years. “It's interesting to talk to peo ple out here. I get more gossip on this corner than in all of Eugene," Szakacs said. The hot dog selling business is not as good as it used to be. though. Szakacs explained that people are changing their eating habits and becoming more health conscious. “It's killing my business.” she said. Szakacs works alone about 10 to 12 hours a day. including sal ting up the cart and taking it down. She said selling from a cart is a lot more difficult than having a shop 'It gets kind of cold in winter when you're freezing and trying to hold an umbrella, it also gets really hot in the summer." Szakacs said The hot dogs are prepared in the cart itself. Szakacs sells foot long hot dogs for $1.50 and regular ones for Si. She also sells chips for 40 cents and soda for 00 cents. "Pop saves me." said Szakacs. indicating that hot dogs sales are not high "I’m looking for a student to design a new cart and a new product, something that they want to buy and it's not hot dogs.” The best aspect of the pushcart vending business for Szakacs is the people. "I have a lot of friends.” Szakacs said, smiling "Even people who L*.. _ .- -j Photo by (JirtUoph* ( h*b«uJf I Thatcher-Cross Rugby Shirts HMvywt lOPltotfcin If.tS 29.95 Canterbury Rugby Shorts / IOO%bfV*hn)(l«Ofi hnrttl "*■ 19.95 A. / Sportif / Rugby Pants 100% t uncm tw*« 29.95 Open 7 Days/Week All major credit cards rTAVIRNA rnoiu D* i nn«u»|tnr i naiwunir Tavern* /mis, a pushcart vendor located on the downtown mall, sells a variety of (ireek food in eluding haklava and gyros. graduate come back The Eugene downtown mall ImmsIs different foods in its pushcarts. Taverna Zeus. "A Little Taste of Greece," offers customers the unique gyro. Pro prietor and operator Marianne Rakestraw described the gyro as pita broad with slices of beef, lettuce, tomato, onion and t/.at ziki sauce, which is made out of cucumber and sour cream Gyros sell for $2 75 and Imklava also is sold for $1. Rakestraw said working in the cart is easy ‘‘Everything is so close and I don't have to go anywhere.” she said business is good most of the year, Rakeshaw explained, although it is slower in the winter. She likes being out in the mall where the people are. Taverna Zeus is locuted bet ween Eugene Athletic and P Hlanton Finishing Touch, a women's clothing and ac cessories store. Unlike Szakacs. who keeps her cart in her garage and transports 11 every nay, Kakestraw's cart stay* on the mall and is insured against damage or theft Also on the downtown mall is the Fri-jos Swedish pastry cart A Fri-Jo is a pastry made out of yeast-raised dough fried in l(M) percent vegetable oil and rolled in cinnamon Owner Dottle Chase said. “I got the recipe from a Swedish family, hut it’s not a national dish " According to Chase, business is better in the summer because kids are out of s« hool business is usually good until Now Year's Imm a use of all the promo tions on the mall. Fri |os has l>eon on the mall year-round for 2t> years. "I run my business like a business You need to set a routine so peo ple can depend on you I don’t w 4 n t to disappoint my customers." Chase said Chase likes the location on the mull because of the influx of people. She gets a lot of her business from fairs and other spat ial uttrutinns "The Iran sirni mismt'NN i» rn'iin r\ ri**ju is ercunt of what they are in summer Vendors pay $20 to $70 a month during the winter, depending upon the numtier of items sold Jjza lores' hot dpg carl will re main on the corner near the University bookstore throughout the winter, both Taverna Zeus and Fri-Jo’s will also remain open through winter. SY’S PIZZA IS OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK SERVING DELICIOUS NEW YORK PIZZA By the slice - or By the whole pizza CALL 686-9598 FOR TAKE OUT ORDERS And Don’t Forget Every Tuesday and Thursday We Serve delicious Vegi and Meat Calzones STORE HOURS 11:30 Midnight M - F 3:30pm Midnight Sat & Sun SY S PIZZA 1211 Alder on Campus 686 9598 Get the word out with an ODE classified