New Jersey Town Allowing Non-Hot-Dog Food Trucks For The First Time In 40 Years

A good story has a hero, a villain, and plenty of hot dogs. Today's news isn't quite that serious, but it is very New Jersey. As reported by NorthJersey.com, the town of Bergenfield, New Jersey recently amended a decades-long ordinance governing retail food establishments, a move that will allow food trucks for the very first time. This wouldn't be particularly groundbreaking news were it not for the fact that a beloved hot dog cart was the only mobile food vendor to ever peddle on Bergenfield's quaint streets.

Bergenfield Borough Administrator Corey Gallo is quoted in the article explaining that, until this year, the only food truck that operated regularly in the borough belonged to resident Mark Butler, also known as the "hot dog guy." Butler ran the truck for 40 years before retiring last New Year's Eve at the age of 75. "His truck was grandfathered in and that was it," Gallo said in the article.

Now, the borough has 20 mobile food vendor licenses available for the first time ever. According to Gallo, the change was a response to numerous inquiries from residents interested in taking their grub on the road. But as NorthJersey.com reports, when Butler opened his hot dog cart in 1980, hot dogs were 50 cents and drinks a quarter. At the time of the cart's closing, prices had inflated to a very cheap three bucks for a dog with the works. While Bergenfield's residents may well enjoy expanded mobile food offerings, the hot dog guy's prices will be tough to beat.