Huntington Hillbilly Hot Dogs Spot Up For Sale

[The Interpreter]

Something here doesn't add up:

http://www.herald-dispatch.com/business ... Huntington

And talk about a sales pitch...NOT:

...Though the Huntington location has struggled to turn a decent profit since it was set up almost four years ago, Sonny Knight said the restaurant's popularity has continued to grow since it's recent notoriety on national television shows. Hillbilly Hotdogs has been featured on CNN Headline News, VH-1, "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and the Food Network's show "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives."...

It's not doing all that well, so we want to sell it? Is that really what that article says?

[cgarison]

...Though the Huntington location has struggled to turn a decent profit since it was set up almost four years ago

Why would I purchase a location of a restaurant that is struggling to do well? If you are selling bits and pieces of a business, you have to dump a money maker in order to get someone to purchase.

[lastone]

My take on this is simple. They have worked hard to expand and with limited results, would now rather semi-retire and expand by selling rights to the name. Expansion without the outlay of capital, while maintaining the origional business.

my.02

[The Interpreter]

Also known as "pipe dream."

I have come to the conclusion that the two potential buyers are interested in the real estate, but NOT the business. After all, if the place is barely making a profit, you aren't buying a business venture, but rather a job. This is even more so if, as I suspect, the two co-owners worked at the Huntington store while not charging it labor...but rather doing so at the LeSage location, if at all.

[genlock]

That location started as a subway and had decent business from Marshall.
It closed and a couple of eateries went in, including a fish place.
They all failed. Just like the fast food place across the street that used to ba an Arby's.
Hardees failed nearby and so did Calamity Cafe.
It is hard to find parking there and when Marshall is not in session, there is no business.
Hilbilly Hot Dogs are OK, but overpriced.
Look for Lavalette HHD to fail soon. Like it's brother pizza place.

[cgarison]

This is even more so if, as I suspect, the two co-owners worked at the Huntington store while not charging it labor...but rather doing so at the LeSage location, if at all.

You are giving these small business owners the credit for having an accounting system better than cash in, less expenses yields gross income transferred and claimed on personal income taxes. Considering that the Huntington Store is a DBA of the mainstore in LeSage, I am rather certain that they do not track and allocate expenses the way I have done so when I worked for the Evil Empire, the Good Ship that Sank, and the Swastika. (I am so glad I have not counted beans in the last five years.)

In short, if I were to go to the Realtor (I did not know that word was capitalized, but auto correct in Firefox certainly put in an uppercase "R") and ask for a copy of financials for the store, it probably would not include the overhead items for running a business that are normally allocated to the subsidiary operations. Ergo, this store will go from barely making a profit to out of business as soon as it is operated as an independent enterprise.

Another interesting finding while looking through public records, Hillbilly Hot Dogs, LLC is solely owned by Sharie Knight. They must be going for minority owned business financing because that is about the only advantage that a business like this would have. Also registered with the WV Secretary of State is a DBA for a Culloden location, but that doesn't mean much because the Lavalette location is not listed as a DBA.

That is enough stalking for this evening.

[The Interpreter]

The National Association of Realtors claims a registered trademark on that term. A rather weak claim, I would think. MOST people have no idea that every Realtor is a real estate broker but only those who pay fees to that association can claim to be Realtors. Which most people around here pronounce real-a-tor!

[genlock]

Jeepy is no longer a bean counter and is a rigger?

What is HEX?

[Big Media]

mmmmmmmmm.... hot dogs

[cgarison]

Jeepy is no longer a bean counter and is a rigger?

FYI: I haven't counted beans for a living since June 2004.

Rigger was a mid-life crisis from July 2004 - November 2005. Grandad was so thrilled when I quit and went back into computers/consulting. Since November 2005, I have worked as a business process analyst (currently in an HR Department hiding behind the title HRIS Analyst) and have been focused on the studies of efficiencies in business and quality control in and around the finance departments of major corporations especially using the Kaizen and Six Sigma methodologies. Currently, I hold a Six Sigma Greenbelt certificate from Villanova University and plan to begin class in January to get my Lean Master Six Sigma Black Belt by summer. Thank God for that waste of regulation Sarbanes Oxley because I have found a new world in the realm of business where I can make things better, more efficient, and leverage outside resources to complete mundane tasks (that would be outsourcing and off shoring of clerical work) to make consolidated business operations more controlled (reducing risk for executive sign off of SOX statements) while reducing costs by eliminating wastes and under utilized resources.

Translation: I am now one of the bastards that I hated when that walked in the door at the Swastika to improve our operations and streamline our assembly process except they did it for manufacturing and I do it for business services, finance, and HR.

What is HEX?

HEX is where I work. My old supervisor and the VP that I report love the nickname for the company so it has even stuck in the office. But even the old West Virginia Pump and Supply folks loved the nickname of The Swastika for that place down on 24th Street in Huntington.

[genlock]

Day-Um!

[cgarison]

Yep.

Yesterday: Hillbilly Hot Dogs on 152 near Lavalette.
Today: Trying to decide between Pat's or Geno's in South Philly. Screw it! I am headed to Tony Luke's on Oregon Ave.
Tomorrow: Trying to find something edible in Bangalore or Mumbai to go along with the chai and making sure not to piss off the Pakistani terrorists.

This whole off shoring work to India has me a bit worried with all the potential terrorism and knocking chunks of business processing in the cloud offline when the terrorists get smart enough to hit the power supplies and data trunk lines supplying the server farms. National Security just took on a whole new perspective when the US has to send soldiers to India to make sure that all the data backed up on the little sub continent is safe from Al-Quaida. Up until a month ago I really did not take this as a serious threat, but it has become more and more apparent that the US now has a huge Achilles heal.

Deal with that overseas risk stuff later. I think I have a few dragons to slay in lower Buck's Co., PA in the next three weeks.