A JOB HE RELISHES : HOT DOG VENDOR RUNS LIVELY CART.Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Daily News Staff Writer The Snap-On Tools guy takes a turkey dog with mustard, onions and extra ketchup. The insurance guy likes the spicy dogs. So goes the start of the lunch hour for Peter Gaehler, perched in his wheelchair running a busy hot dog stand A hot dog stand is a food business stand that sells hot dogs, usually from an external counter on a public thoroughfare such as a road, street, mall or food court. on Rye Canyon Road, the gateway to the Valencia Industrial Center - and thousands of hungry workers. ``The usual? With red onions?'' Gaehler of Pete's Hot Dogs asks as Carlos Garcia Carlos Garcia can refer to:
Garcia works at nearby Saban Entertainment  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. , home of the ``Power
Rangers This article lists fictional characters from the Power Rangers universe who have served as Power Rangers. Unlike the List of Power Rangers characters, which lists serving Power Rangers alphabetically alongside other characters from the same fictional universe, this article lists only .'' He stops by Pete's no fewer than three times a
week. Pete's, he said, is more than a hot dog stand. Sure it's
a quick, convenient affordable lunch, but Gaehler himself is the draw.
``The first time I came here he introduced himself,'' Garcia said. ``Now I come here all the time and chat. And the hot dogs are great.'' Gaehler, 32, is in his third year working from a compact cart hitched to the back of his older-model white Cadillac convertible. Beyond the lunch-time business, Gaehler works special events, parties and corporate picnics. He works out in a gym four times a week, and the evidence is in the muscles that ripple in his arms as he quickly scoots around the cart that holds everything he needs. There's the warmer for the hot dogs - he sells 30 to 40 a day - a refrigerator and cooler, and running water. His No Fear baseball cap backward on his head, sunglasses sunglasses A tinted pair of glasses used to ↓ light arriving at the eye, which are labeled according to the amount of UV light blocked; nonprescription glasses are classified according to use and amount of UV radiation blocked Sunglasses fighting an exceptionally bright February day, Gaehler talks about everything and nothing with his regulars - mostly twentysomething men who work in the industrial park or make deliveries there. ``I know about my customers' wives, their girlfriends - or if they have both,'' he joked. ``I know when their daughters graduate. I tell them the joke of the day.'' Scott Trulik is ``Mr. Snap-On'' to Gaehler, a regular whose business brings him frequently to the industrial park. Trulik is a great admirer of Gaehler, who has been in a wheelchair since suffering a spinal cord injury Spinal Cord Injury Definition Spinal cord injury is damage to the spinal cord that causes loss of sensation and motor control. Description Approximately 10,000 new spinal cord injuries (SCIs) occur each year in the United States. in a motorcycle accident in Switzerland 10 years ago. ``He could just say, `I can stay home and pick up a disability check and not work,' '' Trulik said. ``But he works. He's here every day and he runs a good business. I'd rather support him than any fast-food restaurant.'' Gaehler, who lives in Valencia, said the lunch-hour business is a dream come true. He works outdoors in the sun, gossips with the regulars, shoots the breeze with the actors who work the local studios and talks business with the newcomers. ``Ten years ago I said, `What do I do now?' I cried a lot,'' he said. ``Then I saw a guy selling hot dogs in Glendale and I thought, `Hey, I could do that.' Now, every year it picks up a little more and more.'' Gaehler, the son of a gourmet chef, carries kosher kosher [Heb.,=proper, i.e., fit for use], in Judaism, term used in rabbinic literature to mean what is ritually correct, but most widely applied to food that is in accordance with dietary laws based on Old Testament passages (primarily Lev. 11 and Deut. 14). dogs - jumbo and regular, Polish dogs and turkey dogs. He has all the standard condiments, plus sauerkraut, jalapeno peppers and sauteed onions. Mike Pickett loves the spicy ``Luisianna'' dogs. ``I can save you $500 on one of those,'' Gaehler says. ``Take a bite. Close your eyes. You'll think you're at Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (mär`dē grä), last day before the fasting season of Lent. It is the French name for Shrove Tuesday. Literally translated, the term means "fat Tuesday" and was so called because it represented the last opportunity for in New Orleans New Orleans (ôr`lēənz –lənz, ôrlēnz`), city (2006 pop. 187,525), coextensive with Orleans parish, SE La., between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, 107 mi (172 km) by water from the river mouth; founded .'' A former co-worker, James Aardahl, comes by. The aspiring as·pire intr.v. as·pired, as·pir·ing, as·pires 1. To have a great ambition or ultimate goal; desire strongly: aspired to stardom. 2. musician orders Pete's Special - two hot dogs, chips and a drink for $3.99. The special's always the same, the name changes with the months on the calendar. It's Pete's Wicked Special in late October, the New Year's special in January and next week, the Valentine's Day Valentine's Day: see Saint Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day Lovers' holiday celebrated on February 14, the feast day of St. Valentine, one of two 3rd-century Roman martyrs of the same name. St. special. ``Pay attention to this guy,'' Gaehler says of Aardahl. ``Eventually he's going to be so famous you won't be able to get next to him.'' And so it goes. The regulars pull to the side of Rye Canyon, Gaehler makes sure they want the usual before he creates their lunch. They talk, they laugh, the share news. And the hot dogs are great. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1--color) Vendor Peter Gaehler has developed loyal customers. (2--color) James Aardahl, right, orders the lunch special - two dogs, chips and a drink - from Gaehler. Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News |
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