The Amazingly Popular Silly Rabbit Carrot Hotdogs Stand!
Food-cart vendor raises money for accident victim while evaluating customer response…
“It was a great way to raise money for my friend’s nephew who was paralyzed from a car accident,” says Shyaira Michelle Dineen, who has been selling her special carrot hotdogs from this food-cart which she has named Silly Rabbit. The cart stands on the corner of Canal Crossing Road and Central Street in West Rehoboth, adjacent to Tomato Sunshine.
Dineen says she had been looking for a way to raise money for her best friend’s nephew, Kenaz Tynes, 19, who was paralyzed from the neck down after the accident. She got the idea from TikTok then purchased a food-cart from Facebook Marketplace, applied for an LLC and the necessary health permits. She set a goal to fundraise whatever she could but at the same time wanted to see if there is any interest in this unique enterprise as people are looking for new ways to eat healthy and more veggie-friendly.
“We really were just excited. It is so fun and everyone is so happy, kind and supporting,” she says. Dineen owns the stand but was quick to point out that it functions solely because of the love and support of others. With her this past weekend were her best friend, Carolyn, in the center, and her sister sitting on the drum. They have had so much fun selling the carrot hotdogs that at first they lost count of how many they had sold because the whole process was so overwhelming and new to them.
“We actually made an Excel sheet to keep track of everything and I mean everything but it got destroyed in the rain,” she said. “It’s all so new, definitely still a learning process and while being smart with my business in terms of costs versus profits is important, I can honestly say the goal was to raise money no matter the costs. People have told me this might be a waste of time and money especially if I am barely cutting it. I don’t care about losing money. I have put all of my savings into this thing because I knew this would work in the long run. I knew Kenaz would be worth it,” Dineen added.
Amazingly, she has been selling out of carrot hotdogs each time she sprouts up with the food cart. They estimate that they sell about 150 each weekend. Her recipe is a secret but she says she boils the carrots herself and her condiment options are on the healthier side. Many of those stopping at her stand are meat-eaters but she says they often cannot tell the difference between her carrots and regular beef hotdogs.
The three of them are amazed that Dineen turned the idea into something that appears to be a successful business so quickly. “Look who is hanging out at my carrot hotdog [stand],” Dineen points out, “my sister and my best friend. What more could you want in life? And we are raising money for a kid. That is what we are supposed to be doing in this life, giving back!”
