This hot dog vendor has built up a cult following. For his loyal customers, it's about more than street food 

When you walk up to Nasir's Hot Dog Stand, you can expect to be welcomed by owner Nasir Alhuttam with a warm smile and a riddle.

In front of his stand sits a small blackboard on which he writes a weekly riddle for customers to solve. This week, the board reads: "What has a thumb and four fingers, but is not a hand?" 

The first customer to answer correctly gets 50 per cent off their order; the answer was: "glove." 

For more than 15 years, Alhuttam has been serving street food and building bonds with customers across Scarborough, where he has lived all his life.

Two of his most popular orders are his chili dog — featuring chili that Alhuttam's wife helps cook every morning — and his jerk dog. These, and the rest of his menu, are all halal.

Inside his stand is a shelf loaded with more than a dozen different sauces, many of which Alhuttam makes himself. His "secret sauce" is a customer favourite — he's often asked to sell it by the jar. He won't divulge the recipe, but describes it as a balanced combination of spicy and sweet, with hints of curry.

Currently, his two stands can be found at 3665 Lawrence Ave E. (Lawrence Avenue East and Markham Road) and at 278 Old Kingston Rd. (Old Kingston Road and Military Trail).

But for the majority of his tenure, he was right on the campus of the University of Toronto Scarborough.

Alhuttam opened his campus stand in 2007 and became a beloved street vendor there. He remembered students' orders and often exchanged funny stories and quips with them rather than silently work the grill while they waited.

"Students were always looking for something quick, something tasty that they could eat while walking to class, so they always preferred to come to me," he said.

Owning and operating a hot dog stand was not always a part of Alhuttam's career plan but, in 2006, when he was laid off from his job as a machine operator, a friend asked him to help manage a stand at York University.

"I fell in love with the customers, with the job, with my service," he said. "And that's the time I knew what I'm good at ... And then I got inspired to open my own."

The following year Alhuttam set up shop at U of T Scarborough and quickly found affirmation that being his own boss was the right path for him.

"People are going through a lot but when they come here, if they can forget those things for at least a moment and enjoy the food, that's what matters," he said.

Then the pandemic hit in 2020 and Alhuttam, like so many other small businesses, had to pivot. For him, it meant getting rid of self-serve condiment stands and offering his food through delivery services like Uber Eats and DoorDash.

In 2021, with more faculty, staff and students working online, and fewer people at the Scarborough campus, Alhuttam decided to relocate off campus.

While Alhuttam seems to be a one-man-show, he credits his success — and his ability to run two stands — to his family and staff. Alhuttam primarily runs the Lawrence Avenue East location, while his staff and son help run the stand at Old Kingston Road.

Additionally, his daughter Hiba, whom he calls his social media manager, launched his Instagram ;@the.man.in.the.stand, where many loyal customers and students are featured, hyping up his stand.

Suppose you are Nasir Alhuttam and you want to expand the business.

 

Exam Questions: 

1.         Identify and discuss the main problems you may have when you expand the business. (10%)

2.         Conduct a situational analysis of your business: (20%)

2a. Environmental analysis

2b. Competitive analysis

3.         Discuss a strategy to expand your business. (10%)

4.         Discuss the applicability of Market Segmentation, Target Market Selection and Positioning to your strategy. (25%)

5.         Detail and discuss the components and implementation of your Marketing Mix for the strategy.