Some History Behind Summit's Hot Dogs

Summit's hot dog vendors, stationed at carts in three locations, are fixtures downtown, out year-round no matter the weather. The vendors are related–two brothers and their wives. Previously, Patch spoke with Chi Shan Yang, 47, about his post on Summit Avenue. This week, Patch talked with his brother, Chiming Yang, 46, who brought the family business to Summit 20 years ago.  (Second in a series.)

You and your family emigrated from Taiwan. Could you describe where you're from?

We're from Taipei. It's the capital of Taiwan. It's a city–a big city, like New York City. The traffic's just like New York; the taxis, they run around. It's very busy. I was living there for 22 years before I moved here.

Now you live in Summit. How do you describe Summit to people in Taiwan?

In Taiwan, Summit looks like a town in the countryside. Taiwan is an island. It's about twice the size of New Jersey. The area is about twice as big, but the number of people is three times as much as in New Jersey, so it's very crowded–the people are like ants. So for me, Summit is like a town in the country. 

New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the U.S.

Yeah, I know. But Taiwan is more, because Taiwan is an island with mountains in the middle, so people can only live on the coasts. That's why a lot of people immigrate to other countries. There's too many people there. 

Are there a lot of Taiwanese in New Jersey?

Not much. In New York–in Flushing, Queens, there are. More people gather in Queens. Normally on Sunday, we go to Chinese school in Cedar Grove. Most of the people there are from Taiwan, so we meet people there. They have one in Livingston, too. The kids go there to study, and the parents go to be social. 

We're in the municipal parking lot at the corner of Maple Street and DeForest Avenue. Your wife usually works this spot, right?

Yes. My wife is on vacation. She normally works here, and I work in Madison, on Main Street right next to Chase Bank.

You were the first hot dog vendor in Summit and Madison.

My father immigrated here before us, and he started the hot dog business in Morristown, so when we first came here we were helping him. After we learned how to handle this business we tried to get permits from different towns, so I got permits from Summit and Madison in 1990.

Could you talk about some of the problems you had in Summit that first year?

When we started the business, we sold on Springfield Avenue. The town only allowed you to sell in a parking meter space. So if we took one space, the nearby merchants would complain, and the restaurants would complain. They didn't want us to take the meter, and the restaurants didn't like having a vendor near them; they said it was competition. So then the town made a new ordinance. They put us in an assigned spot in the city parking lot. We chose the fixed location, versus with the parking meter you had to find different locations. We chose here, and we're away from the restaurants, and we get no more complaints. And after that, it was okay–no more problems. 

Did you encounter the same difficulties in Madison as in Summit?

No, Madison was OK. We never had problems in Madison.

So you normally work in Madison; your wife normally works in Summit; your brother and his wife also have carts in Summit. Your brother said you compete.

We're individual stands. My wife and I are together, and my brother and his wife are together.

Is it real competition? Are the earnings very different in each place?

Each cart, the sales are almost the same, but the park is the best spot (Editors Note: The Village Green along Summit Avenue near Broad Street).  The park, you know, they have a long street for parking.  

Do you ever say to your brother, hey, this year I get the park?

When we chose here, we fixed here. You know your customers. You don't want to move anything and change anything now.

What's your favorite part of this job?

You meet all different kind of people.

What's the hardest part?

Oh, the cold. When the weather is bad, you stand here–in freezing weather or windy weather.  

What do you do for fun?

When I'm not with a customer, I like to play tai chi next to my stand, so I don't just stand like an idiot. Or reading newspapers.

What about when you are at home?

I go online, or I watch the news. I watch YouTube.

Anything in particular?

American Idol. I'm always watching that.

What do you like about it?

I like singing, so I see what they do to improve their skills, and what are the popular things in the United States.

What's your favorite thing about Summit?

I like it here because it's an accepting, friendly township. People here, they are very friendly and very accepting. We've been doing business here for so long. I have friends who say, why don't you go work in New York? No, it's not the same thing there. And the other thing is the education is nice here, the schools are nice. My son is eight years old, and he goes to Washington School.

Do customers ever ask you these kinds of questions?

No. You are the first one to interview me. Our story is simple: we came to this country, we started a business 20 years ago, we're still here. We come every day and work.