Today we’d like to introduce you to Ann Bryner.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Aaron Schanie and I (Ann Bryner) met through my son Chase Bryner who works for Aaron’s company, Dovetail Wood Traditions in Bradenton Florida. Aaron lost his wife to cancer in 2019, and it was a really hard time. I have been widowed since 2014, so my son asked if I would talk to Aaron about how I got through the grieving process. Aaron and I talked on the phone and shared tears, memories, and even some laughter. Soon we shared some really good meals together, Aaron is an amazing cook. We became quick friends and soon fell in love.
Aaron has been in woodworking and a business owner for many years but has always wanted a food truck, of all things. I have been a restaurant manager for many years and was working way too many hours. I took a leave of absence from work to care for my sister and when she passed away I decided life is too short to waste time making money for someone else. That was it! That was when Aaron suggested going into business together and the planning began.
This is America, we have opportunities others don’t have. We went with a patriotic theme and had the best time developing our hot dog business. Yankee Doodle Dogs is just plain fun.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I cannot say the ride was smooth. We had many hiccups, especially with getting our equipment. We had delay after delay, our health inspection was pushed back several months. We kept telling ourselves “If it were easy, everyone would be doing it.”
We made so many rookie mistakes! When you have a mobile food trailer, there are so many things to consider. In one of our first events the regulator on the generators went out. We now keep a spare, as well as spare tires. One of the first times we took the trailer to get the propane tanks filled, we forgot to secure the refrigerator doors. As the tanks were being filled we noticed something leaking from the trailer. Aaron said, “It smells like pickles!” When we opened the door we realized that everything in the refrigerator was in a pile on the floor. Gallons of relish, pickles, and sour kraut! We had not sold our first dog yet and here we are having to replace all that inventory. In another of our first events, we ran the propane out. We now have lots of checklists.
Our friend Nas of Nas Philly Steaks has been a great mentor and encourager. He and his wife love what they do and make it look so easy. IT IS NOT. They even shared a list of contacts for Yankee Doodle Dogs to try to book events. I am grateful for people in our industry like Nas.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Deciding on what food to sell in our new business was a hard choice. When we decided on hot dogs we were still unsure. How do you stand out with HOT DOGS? Well, keep it simple and be the best. We use the highest quality dogs, Vienna beef.
We contacted the Vienna beef company in Chicago, they are great partners. Aaron and I are actually graduates of Hot Dog University! Thank you to our teacher Bill Murphy at Vienna. It is all about high-quality products and keeping them fresh and beautiful. Soft steamed buns, the best toppings, and fast, friendly service. Yes, you can get a dog at Sams or Cosco, but they are not in the same league. We have had people from Chicago challenge us to make an authentic Chicago dog. Challenge accepted! We make a killer Chicago dog.
We had a wonderful graphic designer to help us with our logo and brand. Just the look of our trailer sets us apart. It is the cutest. We have even painted our propane tanks to look like hot dogs. During our health inspection we were discussing our patriotic theme and the inspector suggested naming our tanks George and Martha, great suggestion.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
I grew up on Long Island and we had block parties on the Fourth of July at my Aunt Pat’s house. Tons of neighbors, hot dogs hamburgers, sodas, ice pops, and fireworks. It was so much fun and so carefree. I think of those memories when we set up at a soccer field or HOA where there are lots of kids. It was such fun.
If you were to ask Aaron his favorite childhood memory I would venture to say it would have to do with fishing. The man will talk to anyone about fishing,
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @yankeedoodle_dogs
- Facebook: Yankee Doodle Dogs
