Vendor Issue At Cedar Grove

It's a familiar sight for the 5,000 people who travel through the Cedar Grove Transfer Center each weekday: the hot dog cart, from Dee's Hot Dogs. With Cedar Grove being land leased by the City of Norfolk, the vendor had to go through a City permitting and licensing process.

I went through Cedar Grove myself this morning and stumbled onto a story. (Well, it's a noteworthy story for we bus riders.) A non-profit had shown up selling snacks, and was claiming exemption from the normal process based on their non-profit status. A lady from Dee's Hot Dogs was there, and was speaking on the phone in an agitated manner with a City of Norfolk official.

IMO other vendors should be allowed to operate there, but there needs to be a standardized process for everyone. Whether profit or non-profit, there needs to be a level playing field. Allowing non-profits a lower standard would give them an unfair competitive advantage.

I'll argue that the hot dog cart is the second greatest improvement to Cedar Grove since Hampton Roads Transit's (HRT) transfer center for downtown Norfolk was moved there. (The greatest was quartering the bus arrivals area into four Stages.) Whenever I'm going through there and have the time and money, I buy from them to help sustain the business. They're good citizens, even stocking iced Gatorade today for passengers waiting for buses in this heat. FYI, my usual is a hot dog with mustard and chili plus a soda. Yeah, I bought this morning and had a chili dog and can of Mountain Dew for breakfast.