Is a Hot Dog a Sandwich? Launching a Food Cart Business That Settles the Debate! | Chris Van Jura

#677 What happens when a 25-year hospitality veteran gets furloughed during COVID and finally goes all-in on the dream he’s been talking about for years? You get Catalyst Hot Dogs — a Jersey-style hot dog joint taking the DMV by storm! In this episode, host Brien Gearin sits down with founder Chris Van Jura, who shares how he launched during the pandemic with a GoFundMe, a beat-up cart discovered in a church parking lot, and an all-beef hot dog so good, it became the heart of his brand. Chris breaks down how he scaled from one cart outside a Home Depot to multiple trailers, a staff, university partnerships, and a soon-to-open brick-and-mortar location. From sourcing premium franks to mastering social media marketing (and settling whether a hot dog is a sandwich), this is the real, gritty journey of turning a simple idea into a thriving business — one dog at a time! What we discuss with Chris: 0:00 The Dream Begins 4:22 From Hospitality to Hot Dogs 8:44 Building the Brand and Team 13:05 Expanding Operations 17:27 The First Sales and Learning Curve 21:49 Product Philosophy and Menu 26:11 Marketing and Social Media 30:33 Partnerships and Press 34:55 Managing Margins and Operations 39:17 The Future of Catalyst Hot Dogs Thank you, Chris! Check out Catalyst Hot Dogs at ⁠CatalystHotDogs.com⁠: https://www.catalysthotdogs.com/ Follow Chris on ⁠Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CatalystHotDogs/⁠, ⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catalyst_hotdogs/?hl=en⁠, ⁠TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@catalysthotdogs?lang=en⁠, and ⁠Twitter⁠: https://x.com/CatalystHotdogs To get access to our FREE Business Training course go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MillionaireUniversity.com/training (https://www.millionaireuniversity.com/training)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And follow us on: Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/millionaire_university_mu/) Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/MillionaireUniversityMU/) Tik Tok (https://www.tiktok.com/@millionaireuniversity_mu?lang=en) Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyG31bPcrqhbjvGsuz-JaXw) Twitter (https://twitter.com/Millionaire_Uni) To get exclusive offers mentioned in this episode and to support the show, visit millionaireuniversity.com/sponsors (https://www.millionaireuniversity.com/sponsors) . Want to hear from more incredible entrepreneurs? Check out all of our interviews here (https://www.millionaireuniversity.com/podcast) ! #entrepreneurship #foodcart #foodcartbusiness #foodtruck #foodtruckbusiness #hotdogcart #foodbusiness #restaurantbusiness