How Dan Rossi Became NYC’s Hot Dog King, Then Lost It All, And Fought Back Again

From street food empire builder to sleeping in a van, Dan Rossi’s journey through entrepreneurship, injustice, and resilience is one of New York’s most powerful underdog stories.

In an unforgettable episode of Networth & Chill with Your Rich BFF, hosted by Vivian Tu, Dan Rossi — the decorated Marine, master cart-builder, and street food icon — shared his incredible rise, fall, and redemption as the “Hot Dog King of New York.”

“I did everything right and they took it because they could.”

That quote from Dan Rossi hits like a punch to the gut.

If you’ve ever felt like the system is stacked against the little guy… if you’ve ever built something from nothing and watched it slip away… or if you're a wantrepreneur dreaming of launching your hustle from the ground up — Dan Rossi’s story is a masterclass in grit, purpose, and the ugly underbelly of power.

From Skylights to Street Carts: A Humble Start

Dan Rossi didn’t start in food. He was a construction worker — a skilled layout man who once helped build the skylights over the Metropolitan Museum of Art. But everything changed when a family friend had a heart attack and asked Dan to build a hot dog cart.

“I never even looked at a hot dog cart,” Rossi said. But being handy, he figured it out. He and his wife pieced together that first cart in their home. When the friend changed his mind, Dan sold it in a day. “I said to my wife, ‘You know what, there might be a market for this.’”

There was.

By the early 1980s, Dan was running a booming cart manufacturing company, Precision Carts, churning out over 200 carts a year and grossing $1.5 million annually. His clients were mostly immigrant entrepreneurs — the working-class dreamers building their own piece of New York street food culture.

But behind the hustle was a deeper mission: helping disabled veterans like himself find dignity through entrepreneurship.

A Business Built on Integrity — and Broken by Corruption

Rossi wasn’t just making carts. He was empowering others. Leasing carts to immigrant vendors for just $5/day, he refused to exploit the desperate. “Take the cart — when you have the money, pay me,” he told new arrivals with limited means.

But as the business scaled, corruption scaled faster.

Behind the scenes, a black market for permits flourished — often enabled by city insiders. Rossi, ever the rule-follower and ex-Marine, did everything by the book. That made him both an outsider and, eventually, a target.

By the 1990s, political pressure — including from real estate titans like Donald Trump — led to legislation that banned vendors from Midtown Manhattan. The only people excluded? Disabled veterans. “They passed the law saying no one could have more than one permit. They called it the Dan Rossi Law,” he recalled.

The city turned on him. Laws changed. Permits were revoked. Rossi lost nearly 500 carts and his thriving business. “The price for helping veterans,” a New York Assembly member told him, “was your company.”

From $1.5M to a Van

The descent was fast and brutal. Rossi lost his business, his house, and nearly his wife, who suffered a stroke during the chaos. For a time, they lived in a van. And yet — she looked at him and said, “So what? We’ve got each other.”

That was the turning point.

He picked up his tools again, rebuilt kitchens to survive, and eventually returned to the food cart world with just one permit — the only thing the city didn’t strip from him.

He set up shop outside the very museum he once helped build — the Met — and began again. This time, sleeping in his van every night to protect the coveted vending spot. His daughter, also a Marine and disabled vet, works alongside him now.

What Keeps the Hot Dog King Going

Today, Dan Rossi’s cart does around $300K/year — half what it should, due to rampant illegal competition and lack of city enforcement. But he’s still standing.

Still fighting for vets.

Still fighting for integrity.

Still hammering carts in his shop with his grandsons.

“Retirement?” he laughs. “What am I going to do — watch TV?”

Rossi’s true legacy isn’t just the hundreds of carts he’s built or the millions he once made. It’s the people he empowered. It’s the city he fought. And it’s the fire he passed down to a new generation.

“You owe it to them to pass it on,” he says. “That’s why I never chased my grandkids away when they asked to help. I want them to start where I leave off — not at the beginning.”

Dan Rossi’s Hard-Earned Advice for Entrepreneurs:

• Do it the right way — even if it costs you.

  “I could’ve joined the city and abused the vets… and I’d probably still be in business. But I wouldn’t be able to look at myself.”

• Always keep a cushion.

  “Don’t throw it all into the pot. You never know what tomorrow brings.”

• Seek the wisdom of old-timers.

  “They've already made the mistakes you’re about to make.”

• Never give up.

  “They took it all — but I got back. As soon as I picked up the hammer, it all came back.”

Where to Find Him (And the Best Hot Dog in NYC)

📍 82nd Street and Fifth Avenue — right in front of The Met Museum

That’s where you’ll find Dan Rossi. Still serving spicy mustard, kraut, and onions. Still building. Still fighting.