Mark Carter, famously known to Ball State University students as the "Hot Dog Man," will expand his business by returning to downtown Muncie, two years after leaving it. But don't worry Village-goers: Carter said his move downtown won't affect his regular Village business.
Carter said he originally started working in downtown Muncie just outside the Delaware County Building. He has owned "Carter's Nearly World Famous Hot Dogs" in the Village and made his rounds throughout Muncie for the past 15 years.
Carter said he will sell hot dogs around lunchtime on Mondays and Wednesdays once again due to the increase in Ivy Tech students downtown. But he said these trips would have no effect on his weekend Village visits.
"I do all kinds of daytime stuff anyway," Carter said. "It'll be just another place to go."
Carter said his job takes him from The Academy of Model Aeronautics, Ivy Tech, Delta High School and "all over the place." He said he wants his customers near Ball State to know he is still working, in the Village and in additional places, throughout the week, he said.
"The last year and a half, I've heard so many rumors," Carter said. "[Rumors] that said I'm retiring. I heard that I died; I heard I had a heart attack. I've heard all kinds of stuff."
Graduate psychology major Chris Childs said though the Hot Dog Man may not be an integral part of every Ball State student's life, everyone would miss Carter if he were to leave.
"I don't go [to Carter's cart] that often now, but I definitely would miss seeing the lines of people," Childs said. "He's a part of a tradition with where he's at right now. Even though I might be drunk, he'll be cool and talk with me."
Junior environmental management major Ron Sefcik said that part of Carter's appeal was that he works late at night. There are not any other places like Carter's cart in the Village, he said.
"I've only gotten a hot dog from him once or twice," Sefcik said. "But I would definitely be sad [if Carter were to go]. I mean, I don't go there all the time, but it would suck if I couldn't. I would miss him."
Another part of why Carter is received so well is how he conducts business and the rapport he has with his customers. Regular customers who are familiar with Carter's lingo will ask for "red and yellow," instead of saying "ketchup and mustard," or "smelly," meaning "onions."
"He seems really friendly and he gets things done really fast," sophomore interior design major Morgan Dragoo said. "He puts up with a bunch of people, and I think he does a really good job. I would be really sad to hear that he was leaving because it's like a Ball State thing."
As of now, Carter said he would let it be known if he has plans to change his rounds in the Village.
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