Long wait is over for hot dog vendor

It took about a month for the owner of a hot dog food truck to get permission to join Elgin's farmers market amid concerns he'd be competing with a long-standing vendor.

Elgin's Matthew Habib, owner of Legit Dogs & Ice, will be at the Harvest Market starting Thursday. His truck offers gourmet hot dogs and Hawaiian shaved ice.

Habib said that for weeks he was given the runaround and at one point told "no" by market manager Kelly Cunningham, an employee of the Downtown Neighborhood Association, which runs the market.

Habib said Cunningham told him he couldn't join the market because there already is a hot dog vendor, Michael Batt of Bartlett, owner of Golden Eagle Hot Dogs.

That's unfair favoritism, Habib said.

"I don't understand how you can be an organization that is there to help and promote local businesses, but you can't help a local business simply because (Batt) has been there for years," Habib said. "It's a racket is what it is."

Approval came this week from board members after Habib questioned the initial decision to keep him out.

Cunningham said the size of the market - which has fewer than 20 vendors - isn't conducive to duplication. Other food vendors are Elgin BBQ Pit and Ruthella's New Orleans Home Cuisine of West Dundee.

"We try to have food trucks, but we try not to have similar food trucks, like we don't want to have three vendors selling the same soaps," Cunningham said.

The market's rules state "returning vendors are typically given preference over new vendors in entry, when necessary, and choice of products in the market; however the Harvest Market manager and committee hold the right to bring on new vendors with similar products for market growth, variety and creating the market as a destination for consumers to have competitive options."

Batt said he and Cunningham are the sole members of a committee reviewing vendor applications. Batt said he was upfront with Cunningham about his belief two hot dog vendors is not a good idea.

"I have nothing against anyone, but in a small market you try not to double up too much. It generally doesn't work out most of the time, in my experience," he said. "It's up to the DNA to make decisions."

Cunningham said Habib applied to be a vendor about a month ago, after the market started June 1. The vendor application states latecomers "are accepted ... on a case-by-case basis."

Board member Ben Glunz said he and another board member met Thursday and decided to let Habib join. "It was an administrative mix-up," Glunz said, adding that he offered to waive the $150 fee for Habib, who declined.

The DNA hasn't had an executive director since January, and this is Cunningham's first year as market manager, both factors in how things played out, Glunz said. The board is in the process of hiring a new director.

Glunz said the board will review the market's rules and ensure "it's a more open market for everyone."

Habib said the delay cost him business. "I'm grateful that they let me into the Harvest Market," he said. "It's what they are supposed to do."