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Framingham hot dog cart for sale as owner returns to tech career
After seven years of owning the hot dog cart, Roland Houle hopes the next owner keeps the grill and goodwill going.
At a busy stretch along Speen Street in Framingham, the lunchtime rush at Zippity Do Dog might not look like much from a distance — just a small hot dog cart with a playful name.
But for owner Roland Houle, it represents a years-long reinvention.
Now, though, the beloved hot dog vendor is preparing to walk away from it.
Houle, 55, has listed the business for sale for $33,000 as he heads back to the tech industry — a return to the high-pressure world he once left behind. He’s hoping to find someone who understands that its value goes far beyond the cart itself.
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“It’s everything else that, to me, is the value,” he said, pointing to the goodwill, customer base and reputation he’s built over time. “If you started from scratch, it would literally take you years to build up to that point.”
From high tech to hot dog
Seven years ago, Houle was a jet-setter, traveling the globe to install computer systems in factories. He worked anywhere from 60 to over 100 hours a week, he said. The pace became unsustainable — not just professionally, but personally.
“It takes its toll on me, takes its toll on our family and everything. I just got tired of that, and was looking for something different.”
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That “something different” almost didn’t happen, if it weren’t for a passing joke from his wife.
She had spotted a newspaper article announcing the sale of a local hot dog cart and remarked about the missed opportunity.
“She was like, ‘Too bad you didn’t know about this. You could have done it,’” he recalled.
On a whim, Houle reached out to the owner. The response surprised him. “He said, ‘You wouldn’t believe it, but as soon as the article was published, the deal fell through.’”
Houle bought the business in August 2019 — unknowingly stepping into what would soon become one of the most challenging periods for food vendors and restaurant owners in recent memory.
Within months, the Covid-19 pandemic forced the cart to shut down entirely. He closed in March 2020 and didn’t reopen until June, as supply chain disruptions made buying even basic supplies difficult to secure. Even after reopening, the challenges lingered.
“For the next year or two, between Covid and supply chain issues, it was an interesting and trying time. But, we made it through,” he said.
More than just a hot dog cart
What followed, though, was something Houle hadn’t necessarily expected: a business built as much on relationships with his customers and community as it was on food.
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“For the past seven years, I’ve really enjoyed doing it. It’s been a lot of fun. I love meeting people,” he said.
That connection shows up both in the menu and in the ethos of the business.
He kept some offerings from the previous owner but gradually introduced his own inventions. His favorite outlet for creativity, he said, is the ever-changing Monthly Dog, where he can “get real creative” — even if not every experiment sticks.
Recent specials have featured a St. Patty’s dog featuring a grilled hot dog with corned beef hash and boiled cabbage, the Boston dog covered in baked beans, and even a Yule Dog for the holidays featuring a hot dog with red pepper and green dill relish.
But for many customers, the defining feature of Zippity Do Dog isn’t just what’s on the menu, but what it does for the community it serves.
Paying it forward
About two and a half years ago, Houle introduced a “pay it forward” program, allowing customers to help cover meals for others in need. Since then, he estimates the cart has provided more than 500 free meals “entirely funded by the customers,” he said.
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The program, he added, works because it resonates on both sides of the counter.
“They appreciate the opportunity to help someone,” Houle said. “And on the other side, you’ve got people that need a meal, and they appreciate getting them.”
Despite being open only about 20 hours a week, the cart has developed a steady base of regulars.
“There’s some people that are there almost every day,” Houle said. He’s never been a bartender, but he posits that he knows what it must be like “because people are always telling you what’s going on in their lives.”
‘I will definitely miss the customers’
After much contemplation, Houle said he’s now preparing to leave, pulled by an opportunity in the field he once left behind.
He was resistant, at first, to leave the business and the relationships he’s built with his customers – not to mention his 1,300 followers on Facebook. But when he got an offer that he’d “be foolish not to take advantage of,” he knew had to take it.
Interest in buying the cart has been strong, and sorting through the deluge has become a job of its own.
“Dozens and dozens,” Houle said of the inquiries, describing a steady stream of messages, calls, and emails. “It’s been really tough trying to answer everybody’s questions.”
With a June 1 deadline to start his new job, he said, the clock is ticking.
For customers, the transition is already hitting home.
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“They’re like, geez it’s gonna be tough to duplicate what you do,” Houle said, though he’s quick to downplay his impact. “I don’t think I do anything special … I just treat people nicely.”
What he will miss, he said, is simple: “I will definitely miss the customers.”
And if the right buyer comes along, he hopes the spirit of the place — the conversations, the regulars, and the small acts of generosity — will carry on long after he’s gone.
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