"I run a coffee cart in Midtown New York City, but it wasn't the life I'd planned for, nor a life I want to keep up long-term. My dad's been in the food truck business since before I was born and always told me, "Don't ever get into this business. This is the hardest and the worst business in the world. You'll destroy your life.""
"I was out of a job, and I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. I just stayed home at my parents' place with my wife and kid and was kind of being a dirtbag. Then, after about a year, my dad basically got fed up with me. He came to me one day and said he'd found a pushcart for sale, and he gave me a choice: either buy the pushcart or get out of the house."
"I wake up around 4 a.m. each morning at my place in Long Island, rush to the garage in Long Island City where I store my cart, and drive an hour into Manhattan, where I set up shop in Midtown. I then drive it all back when I'm done around 11 a.m., and I do this five days a week. At first, the routine grounded me."
Petey Stathopoulos runs a breakfast and coffee pushcart in Midtown Manhattan after buying the business for roughly $35,000. He entered the trade during COVID while struggling with depression and at his father's urging to move out. Daily routine includes waking at 4 a.m., driving from Long Island to assemble the cart, operating in Midtown until about 11 a.m., and returning to storage five days a week. The work provided grounding and renewed identity early on, but after four years he feels burned out and unwilling to continue long-term. Customer unpredictability and small price increases—like a $0.25 rise—have significantly affected sales.
Read at Business Insider
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