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«u<tlr
Many shoppers on the downtown mall enjoy the convenience
and quickness of pushcart vendors.
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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 <i pit k up am! walk away
item." ('hast) said
Fri-Jos is located across from
Taverna Zeus and faces east It
is open from 9 am until 5 p in ,
six days a week.
Most pushcarts arc going to
remain in business despite
winter lining around the corner,
lanice Hohinan of the Kugnne
Development Department said
four of the six carts that
operated during the summer
will continue to operate during
the winter. "The businesses
that sell warm things will be
staying." Bohman said
Rates for pushcarts on the
mall in winter drop 50 |>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
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