Aaron Anderson, CEO of Axxeum Partners and franchise owner of four Original Hot Dog Factory restaurants, partnered with Chef Reuben Harley to launch the new business in 2020. While nearly half of Black-owned businesses were forced to close during the pandemic, renowned Philadelphia entrepreneur Anderson found creative ways to not only stay open, but to also grow, by pivoting and adapting to current trends.
“I will do all I can to make sure I can not only thrive during this time but will motivate others to do the same,” said Anderson.
In addition to his four Original Hot Dog Factory locations in Center City, The Bourse Food Hall, Fishtown and Subaru Park, in summer 2020 he opened another franchise in Philadelphia and is in negotiations for one in New York. Menu items include the Jamaican Jerk Chicken Dog, topped with grilled pineapples, sweet onions and a sweet island sauce; a surf ‘n’ turf dog; an all-beet hot dog topped with lump crab meat and the Italian dog, a deep-fried sausage topped with peppers and onion. The Original Hot Dog Factory also serves chicken wings, burgers, fries and corn dog nuggets.
Anderson credits some of his success during the pandemic to catering to first responders and essential workers, and making sure all his employees and take-out customers are in a safe environment to prevent the spread of COVID-19, with social distancing, face masks and the installation of self-service kiosks.
Born and raised in the tough inner city of Philadelphia, Anderson credits his mother, a single parent of five, with his unyielding strength, discipline, humility, passion and persistent need to be of service to those in need. Anderson’s foray into being a business owner — the very first in his family — started with the launch of his own screen-printing company in 2009, Union Printing. The idea to start this company culminated while working as an assistant to a top record company executive at Mega Brand in New York City.
Anderson realized a need to provide quality merchandise for an affordable price after seeing an invoice at work and convinced his bosses that he could not only meet the demand for the record label’s printing needs but most importantly for a far better price. As the saying goes, the rest is history. Anderson not only surpassed expectations at major record label in NewYork city but Union Printing established itself as a leader in the industry and is still hugely successful more than a decade later.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
- About Aaron’s franchises in Philadelphia and how he was able to perservere through the pandemic
- How pivoting is the key to all successful business men and women
- Ghostkitchen concept and Aaron’s involvement
