Brud's Hot Dogs - No More

[Holly Moore]

Someone just sent me an email referencing an April 2004 article in the Boothbay Register - Brud's Hot Dogs Denied 2004 License.

I just called the Register to see if anything more developed. No. Brud Pierce did not get a license for 2004 and the town is not permitting any more vendor licenses - Brud had the last one - so no one can continue on the Brud Hot Dog tradition.

It took me a few trips to Boothbay Harbor to finally connect with the legendary Brud. Brud's Hot Dogs. He sets his own schedule - always the same corner - but only when he's in the mood or needs the bucks.

I got to know Brud a bit better when I taped a piece with him for Japanese TV. It was October of 2003 - so I probably got one of Brud's last hot dogs. I remember Brud pulling up in his scooter. We wanted to tape right away, but first things first. He walked across the street and watered some flowers in a window box.

There were other interuptions to the taping. Whenever, and I mean whenever a couple walked by toting a camera Brud would say to the lady, "Would you like to have your picture taken with me." The answer was always "Yes." Brud would then wrap an arm around her and tell her husband, "OK, take the picture."

Brud's dogs were basic dogs - steamed, served with mustard, onion and relish on a New England style steamed hot dog bun. Each one made slowly, with care.

Boothbay Harbor doesn't seem to be doing much to commemorate Brud and his 60 years service as Boothbay Harbor's unofficial good will ambassador. The town fathers won't even let someone take over the cart and continue the tradition. Which is too bad. But I guess progress is progress, even in Maine. Which is also too bad.

At the very least, there should be a life-size bronze statue of Mr. Brud and his cart permanently parked at Brud's corner.

[johnnyd]

Damn, Holly. What a story.

It appears that he (and any sidewalk vending) was deemed a nuisance. Also I bet a couple local folks thought he was bad for business cause he looked "out of place" but I'm with you in that a tradition like that, quirks and all, is a part of small town america that is fading from our landscape. This town hall doesn't know how to capitalize on something like that and they don't realize it's most of the reason why people drive two days to get to their town! They'll be sorry one day.

Booth Bay is getting crowded these days anyway. Felt like a theme park last time I dropped in, in summertime.

[Fred]

As someone who grew up in Boothbay Harbor I'd like to quickly chime in. I've known Brud for years, he is a landmark in Boothbay and it is too bad that his source of income is being taken away. That being said the town has tried for a couple of years to take away his vendor license not because they dislike Brud or think he is a nusence. There are some serious health issues at stake, Brud is not a young or even middle age guy any more. There have been some serious issues with the quality of food he serves and the confidence that he was maintaining health code standards. The town can't take the risk when it comes to these issues, and trust me they have had deal with it for years. Brud is the man, but I wouldn't eat one of his hotdogs if you paid me. It's sad to see him go and his cart should be bronzed but it had to happen.

PS. Johnny swing through town I bet you don't get that "theme park" feeling

[Holly Moore]

As someone who grew up in Boothbay Harbor I'd like to quickly chime in. I've known Brud for years, he is a landmark in Boothbay and it is too bad that his source of income is being taken away.  That being said the town has tried for a couple of years to take away his vendor license not because they dislike Brud or think he is a nusence.  There are some serious health issues at stake, Brud is not a young or even middle age guy any more. There have been some serious issues with the quality of food he serves and the confidence that he was maintaining health code standards. The town can't take the risk when it comes to these issues, and trust me they have had deal with it for years.  Brud is the man, but I wouldn't eat one of his hotdogs if you paid me.  It's sad to see him go and his cart should be bronzed but it had to happen. 

PS. Johnny swing through town I bet you don't get that "theme park" feeling

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As I said above, I ate a few of Brud's last hot dogs and survived unscathed. Anyone who consumes NYC or Philadelphia dirty water dogs probaby runs the same risk as a Brud's customer. I searched the Boothbay Register and saw no outbreak of food poisoning attributed to Brud.

But let's say that Brud was indeed getting too old to maintain safe health standards. There were two ways Boothbay Harbor could have dealt with Brud's problem. 1) Take away his income and his reason for being by not renewing his license or 2) find a couple of high school kids or other residents to give Brud a hand and keep let him stay in business til he wants to quit.

Boothbay Harbor chose the big city, cold-hearted bureaucratic approach. Not the small town, help your neighbor approach that I would expect of a Maine community. Downtown Boothbay Harbor is less special without Brud and his cart at Brud's regular corner.

[johnnyd]

Booth Bay has it's hands full when summer comes around. I wish Brud had a relative come around and help keep things shipshape because the town probably didn't have the resources to devote to him and his cart.

I think not having vending licenses available is a mistake. I had a mobile vending license myself but since it was for a lobsterboat oysterbar, and therefore not on city property, it was State of Maine issue only. I invited the state health inspector to the boat for an inspection (something that never happens, she said) so I could post the result in my cabin for the public to see. A well-run cart can add a lot of character to a corner or a town, or in my case a town pier.

Fred, just so ya know, I used to urchin-dive out of BoothBay in winter and I'm a fan of the town and the folks there, but I avoid it in summer. It reminds me of what the Cape and the Vineyard have become like.

[Fred]

JohnnyD Absolutely agree with you it's a mad house, but if it wasn't the town couldn't very well survive. The fact is that Brud is too old to run his cart properly anymore, that's just the way it goes. I'm not privy to whether someone could help Brud out or not, but I can tell you that bureaucratic decisions like this get made in Philly, NYC, and in Boothbay. Just because we are a small town (in the winter) these situations are magnified. No one is throwing Brud out into the street. He is a decorated war vet and deserves and gets support from this town. I personally wouldn't be surprised to see someone running his cart this summer and him sitting next to it. I don't mean to be edgy about the subject, just one of those things you learn growing up in Boothbay when the rest of the world thinks they run your town for 4 months of the year.

[johnnyd]

I hear you there Fred. It's the give and take a vacation destination locale goes through, for better or worse. Recent bright spot you might not know about is a recent call for a constitutional amendment here that includes waterfront property used for fishing with forestland and farmland that get taxed at a lower rate:

The waterfront bill would change the Constitution so the Legislature could tax fishing-related property according to its current valuation rather than its full market value. That would protect some prime waterfront property from skyrocketing taxes; such land has so much potential for development that its prospective value is much greater than its current-use value.

The Constitution would have to be amended to allow such changes because it says all property in Maine must be taxed equally and at market value, except for forestland, farmland and open spaces, which are taxed at less than market value to protect them from development. The proposed amendment would add fishing-related waterfront land to the existing exemptions.

This situation has always bugged me. When I was diving, almost all the guys had to drive a long way to get to the pier at 5 in the morning. A fishing town should have fishermen living there. Maybe now the proper balance for Maine coastal towns can be achieved.