Having no financial backup can be burdensome for a number of individuals. The story of Vijay Singh Rathore, now 60, will definitely make you start working early to secure all your dreams in life. Even though he had no access to education from a young age, his entrepreneurial spirit and hard work have made his street food joint better than most commercial outlets.
From the age of 8, he worked at the canteen of Government Engineering College, Indore and served tea and snacks to all the college students and guests. It was his job to serve delicious meals and he made it a point to fill their appetite before they left the canteen. At the time, his bread omelette was a hotseller.
By the time he was 11, he had his own food stall which he gathered by collecting Rs. 4500 from his savings. It was named Chappan Dukan. Unlike other stalls that sold samosas and kachoris, he wanted to do something different. He served aloo tikki, borrowing his mother’s recipe and named them ‘hot dogs’ to create a buzz among his customers.
Unlike the actual sausage hot dogs sold in most places, this hot dog was tasty because of being traditional and fancy. Aloo tikkis are quite commonly consumed for breakfast or snack time. With his aloo tikki recipe, he could further build on creating chicken and mutton recipes of the same dish. With years of serving the same 3 dishes, he finally got his break by 2005, when his store would serve a number of customers from 11 am to 11 pm.
It came to a point where customers would complement his culinary skills and compare it to other fast-food giants like KFC and McDonald’s being no match for him. So in 2018, Chappan Dukan took the turn of becoming Johny Hot Dogs when Vijay’s son Hemendra started helping his business grow online. This helped them cater to a larger audience. Selling approximately 4000 hot dogs for Rs. 30 each, everyday, Vijay’s business was indeed booming.
Over the last 2 years, Johny Hot Dogs has managed to clock a turnover of Rs. 3 crores annually. In fact, Vijay also received the order of having the best dish being ordered on UberEats. To receive the honour, he flew all the way to Hong Kong.
Indore folks, where you at? If you’re inspired and want to try out Johny Hot Dog’s most popular dish, head over or order today!
Source: The Better India
