Money pours in for Indy hot dog man seeking to buy a food truck

A popular hot dog cart owner has received over $5,700 in GoFundMe donations to buy a food truck after he said he was reported to the health department for using unapproved ingredients.

Abacuc Garcia, owner of Garcia’s Hot Dogs , has been selling hot dogs from a cart at the corner of 16th Street and Emerson Avenue in Indianapolis for the past 13 years.

He said a county representative called him Friday to tell him that he was not allowed to have mayonnaise, corn and a specific cheese ingredient in his cart and that additional ingredients would be phased out of his business model.

“You're not going to be allowed to sell tomatoes, no onions, no grilled onions, no lettuce, no sauerkraut,” he said a health official told him. “What we're going to allow is going to be only jalapenos, banana peppers, Chicago peppers and relish.”

Garcia told IndyStar that a new food truck would help him refrigerate perishable goods to code.

Garcia previously received notification in 2022 that his offerings expanded beyond what was approved for his hot dog cart.

“Raw bacon cooked to order is not approved. Fresh pico de gallo, chopped tomatoes, chopped onion and chopped jalapeno is not approved,” inspectors wrote.

The Marion County Public Health Department confirmed it spoke with the owner of Garcia’s Hot Dogs on Friday about the food cart’s expanding menu and the need for a more extensive mobile unit to accommodate.

“Code requires that mobile food operations be contained within a mobile unit, whether it’s a food cart or food truck,” said Curt Brantingham, an MCPHD spokesperson. “Growth often requires more space to operate within code. ... The owner indicated he planned to get a food truck.”

The food cart was also cited in May for “operating without a license” and “not properly changing gloves.” MCPHD also dinged Garcia for using sanitation water with zero parts per million bleach.

This month's plea for help comes after Garcia launched a GoFundMe in 2018 for donations to assist with purchasing a food truck and obtaining a business permit after a county inspector visited.

“I was like, ‘OK, it’s time to get a real cart and a license,'” he told IndyStar in 2018.

He received $2,313 from the 2018 campaign — not enough to buy a truck. In a pool interview with reporters Monday, Garcia said he’s saved around $37,000, with $10,000 coming from “raised” money.

Garcia said he needs more to get a truck.

“I do not have the whole money," he said Monday. "That's why I’m asking the community and Indianapolis to help me raise the money to make my dream come true.”

His 2024 GoFundMe campaign states that the cost of a used food truck that would pass the inspections “is roughly 25,000.” His goal is $10,000 for the campaign.

Garcia told IndyStar that he was offered a donation in the form of a used food truck but needs to look at the truck before amending his campaign or notifying his donors.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Money pours in for Indy hot dog man seeking to buy a food truck