One father-daughter duo has bonded over hotdogs, amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Bobby Morelli is a recording artist and web designer whose income was cut in half right when the pandemic hit.
“I had, like, small business clients. A lot of them had to go out of business, and that left me scrambling to find something to do,” Bobby said.
So to help with his family, he decided to get a little creative. Out of a shipping container on the South Side, Bobby decided to sell a family staple.
“I’m like, hot dogs,” he said. “Me and Brooklyn, we’re always searching for a really good hot dog.”
And so when Bobby said “let’s sell hot dogs from this shipping container,” Brooklyn was more than skeptical.
“No, I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” she quipped back at the time.
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But she decided to help out with the family business, twice a week in tight corners alongside her dad.
“I say, ‘Hello, welcome to The Hot Dog Box. Let me know if you have any questions,’” she said. And the rest they say, is history!
“First of all, I’m not a chef,” Bobby said. “We’re big into music, and writing, and I wanted something I can be creative with.”
Their toppings are unique and widely popular — like the Cajun buttermilk shrimp and steak dog. But what most people are impressed with is the father-daughter bond.
“I didn’t necessarily have my father growing up,” Bobby said. “To be able to give her the opportunity to grow and learn, and have this as her training grounds, because one day she’s going to grow up and be a black woman, and I want her to be successful.”
Bobby went on to reveal how shocked he was that during a time of such economic upheaval, hot dogs were at the heart of it all.
“I’m unbelievable, but then I’ve been in the trenches for so long, been working really hard, and to see how, like, I’m like ‘Really God? Hot dogs!?’” he said. “Best job I’ve ever had, yeah.”
But how about Brooklyn? “Yeah, but I don’t think I ever had a job. So, yes,” she quipped.