Flo's Zone

Hot Dogma: Man does not live by bun alone

2005-12-04T18:23:00.000-08:00

I saw a story on these kids and love what they're doing. Who doen't like a good hotdog/brat?

I'm thinking of buying a franchise.

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By Bob Batz Jr., Pittsburgh Post-Gazette An unorthodox hot dog and fruit shake shop has opened in the "catacombs" of Trinity Cathedral, Downtown. Its name: Hot Dogma. Its creed: "Franks be to God!" "But it's nothing we're going to push down anyone's throats," promises Tim Tobitsch, as he tells their story. The 23-year-old does not hesitate to proselytize on the supremacy of the New York-style hot dog, of which he became a disciple as a high school senior in his native New Jersey. When he came to Grove City College, he was disenchanted by cafeteria dogs he describes as "this chicken by-product thing on a limp bun." So he started cooking the real garlicky thing on a George Foreman grill in his dorm room and sharing with others. The "Sausage Sage," as he became known, attracted adherents ("The Inner Circle of Hot Dogs") who addressed each other by their own tubular titles. Megan Lindsey was "Vice Dictator of Natural Casings."

After they graduated in 2002, Lindsey moved to Pittsburgh to be part of a young people's house church -- that is, a church that meets in people's houses -- called Three Nails. She, and the fact that he was unemployed, helped persuade Tobitsch to come here, too, and to launch the business with her and another Three Nails member, Carnegie Mellon University MBA grad Matt Niblack. Their shared interest in Christian ministry, Tobitsch's idea for the name Hot Dogma and the location in a gothic cathedral all came together after Trinity donated the space -- its former bookstore -- to Three Nails, which was nurtured by the Episcopal Diocese and an Ambridge-based group called Rock the World. The upshot: The three principals rent the space from Three Nails in a deal that will give the group up to 15 percent of the profits. Otherwise, they want to make enough money to pay Niblack, who's in charge of accounting and the like, and pay salaries for Tobitsch and Lindsey, who are working full time at the shop with what's now one other employee: fellow Three Nails member Keith Pozzuto.

A brochure they'll give to anyone who wants one explains their story and Three Nails, which now has seven "cells" in and around Pittsburgh. They meet weekly and gather all together twice a month "to see a contagious release of God's freedom and purpose in the world." These three leaders live with other members in houses on the South Side, where Three Nails started in early 2003. The brochure states their belief "that both churches and restaurants are great places to feed the body and soul." Churches and people need to financially support themselves, notes Lindsey, daughter of a peripatetic Navy man who still wants to someday be an overseas missionary. "I'd like to see this kind of model take off."

There is a continued trend toward business and investment tied to social causes. For example, Vermont-based ice cream chain Ben & Jerry's has several "PartnerShops" that partner with nonprofits. One that opened this summer in Squirrel Hill benefits at-risk youth through Life'sWork of Western Pennsylvania. That relationship was assisted by the Pittsburgh Social Enterprise Accelerator, which helps nonprofits start side businesses, so this can work both ways. But Accelerator President Tim Zak says there are more and more businesses that start up with an eye toward causes, such as providing water to Third World areas. "Social entrepreneurs, you might call them." Hot Dogma may well be the world's only hot dog shop in an active cathedral, but Tobitsch is only partly joking that he envisions a chain of them.

After all, he wants to be, by age 28, the "Dave Thomas of Hot Dogs." He can tell you why his spicy, all-beef, natural casing dogs are the best ("Got that snap," Lindsey chimes in). He can tell you the best way to eat them -- with mustard, sauerkraut and New York-style red onion sauce (they have ketchup on the menu, but in very small print). The fruit shakes are inspired by the fruit drinks you'll find at Manhattan hot dog landmarks such as Gray's Papaya, but are more West Coast -- thicker mixtures of sorbet, juice and fruit. The menu also offers soups and salads, including a spinach-based "Frankfurter Salad." "No one's ordered it yet, but it could be delicious," says Tobitsch, with a sense of fun that colors the whole operation.

The remodeled, mostly below-ground space gleams with a white-and-black tile floor and orange rag-rolled walls. His mother painted the canvases covering some tables that give frank twists to famous paintings such as "American Gothic" (guess what's on the pitchfork). Customers can lounge on the green corner couch and use the free wireless Internet access. The three friends are about to launch a creative marketing blitz to let the world know about this shop that's in a place most people wouldn't look for it. They even have a hot dog costume Tobitsch bought on eBay after a friend sent him the, um, link.

SF Trip Pics and Highlights

2005-11-16T12:44:00.000-08:00

Best shot of the trip

Missed my 7:45 am flight because I was asleep, didn't make it into SF until 10:00 PM (1AM Louisville time) Saturday night. We stayed up until 4:30AM planned for our meetings.

We woke up early Sunday morning and ate a breakfast of eggs, sausage, fried potatos & toast and it only cost $45.00 for 2, (damn Park Hyatt rates:)

We walked from Pier One to Pier 39 and saw the usual sites: the sea lions, bridges, alcatraz and the bridges, which are still awesome as usual.

2005-06-04T18:44:00.000-07:00

Are these little dudes classic or what? I saw them 2 weekends ago at the www.leesfordmarina.com In-water boat show. More stories/pics from that funominal time to come...Flo

2005-06-03T18:50:00.000-07:00

http://slackshop.us - I've known BillyB since '91 when my band opened up for his former band, they're an alumni of 52's '99 Harvest webcast and he's a great songwriter and marketing whizz. His songs are constantly played on 40+ radio stations throughout the southeast. They stripped down many of their hits for this acoustic EP that they recently released which we're proud to release on 52media. I like their sound. I feel its very accessable, like DMB meets REM with a bit of Roger Waters weirdness thrown in for good measure.

2005-05-25T14:24:00.000-07:00

Coming Soon

2005-05-18T19:36:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking of using this as an album cover soon. What d'ya think???

2005-05-18T19:30:00.000-07:00

Just add water.

Lee's Ford Resort Marina Resort on Lake Cumberland in Sumerset, Kentucky

Annual in-water boat show May 20, 21, 22 2005

Its the show that blows the rest of them out of the water. Make plans now to attend Kentucky's largest, in-water boat show where you'll find the latest in houseboats, cruisers, pontoons, personal watercraft and more. You can even arrange to take a test run right from our piers.

Don't miss the boat - 10a.m. to dark daily.

If there is anyone in the area, I will be working 2 'booth/boats', come on down and don't forget your guitars ...Flo

2005-02-22T14:57:00.000-08:00

I've been looking for this site for months. Its one of the reasons we're involved with weed. [source: http://www.downhillbattle.org/itunes/ ]

2005-02-22T14:54:00.000-08:00

Love not guilt
If you want to support the musicians you love, the best way to begin is by downloading the song for free on a filesharing network. Then send them what you want to give, no middleman. 14 cents. 99 cents. 10 dollars. A site like musiclink.com, though still rudimentary, makes this a little easier and is a step in the right direction. Weed (weedshare.com) is an ingenious new system where songs can be distributed on p2p networks but must be paid for after 3 plays. Instead of pursuing dead-ends like iTunes, we can develop p2p and direct contribution systems into a full-fledged music economy that sustains many more musicians than the current one. If downloading and contributing is made just as easy as iTunes, it could work and it would work. After all, iTunes is already voluntary.

2005-02-22T14:49:00.000-08:00

"If you build a shiny new house on a landfill it still stinks
Apple says iTunes is "better than free" because it's "fair to the artists and record labels." That's simply not true. First of all, Apple gets 3 times as much money as musicians from each sale. Apple takes a 35% cut from every song and every album sold, a huge amount considering how little they have to do. Record labels receive the other 65% of each sale. Of this, major label artists will end up with only 8 to 14 cents per song, depending on their contract. Many of them will never Artists Get Ripped Off. even see this paltry share because they have to pay for producers and recording costs, both of which can be enormous. Until the musician "recoups" these costs, when you buy an iTunes song, the label gives them nothing. [source: http://www.downhillbattle.org/itunes/ ]

2005-02-21T15:29:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite writers of our lifetime is gone. I had the pleasure of meeting him 8 years ago when the state made him an honorary colonel and I was writing and doing database design for mtv online. My fondest memory of that night was when he threatened to hit me with a rider's crop for grabbing the last molsen golden I've been reading his stories, books and sports criticism every chance I could since I first heard about him after moving to Louisville back in the late 80's because he told it like he experienced it, true and passionately. His words and lifestyle incited people across the world, and I'm sad to see him pass and never having a chance to offer him the last beer.

Hey Hunter, thanks for all of your fantastic words and bad craziness all of these years, I appreciate the short time we had together...Flo

2005-02-18T17:25:00.000-08:00

After months of inactivity I've finally found what I've been looking for since the entire mp3 scene got boring, corporate and old, PODCasting. If you don't read the newspaper or tech site's you're way behind (like I feel), but hey I needed some inspiration after nearly losing my lunch attempting to keep our SHOUTcast streams running the past 5 years. Seeing I only read about this new media distribution method, I'm still extremely green around the edges and still reading tutorials and 'how-to's' on creating a PODCast, I have that same exact feeling I did in 1998 when I first heard about mp3 technology over 6 1/2 years ago. That's a long time ago, so I guess I'm hard to please or inspire, but I'm back baby--- to the dismay of 1000s everywhere hah hah. I am so ready toget going once again and get my first PODCast ready for release I can barely stand still here.

2005-02-08T17:40:00.000-08:00

A few of my McFriends from the holidays.

2005-01-13T21:10:00.000-08:00

OK, very funny, you're coming back right? Um Guys? This joke isn't funny anymore, COME BACK COME BACK!!!! F@#@#ERS!!!!

2005-01-13T20:58:00.000-08:00

here's a pristine shot of JT fishin at Lake Dale Hollow takien by moontrains, its so good it almost looks like a painting!

2004-12-01T07:58:00.000-08:00

made this today for MB use

2004-11-22T06:57:00.000-08:00

u2 on SNL It was a wicked show, had it taped on tivo and yesterday's nascar taped over it, damn!

They played the new single/ipod commercial song and one that bono wrote about his father. The music was strong as was their performance, the edges guitar playing was incredible as usual. The new songs do remind a bit oif the early years, especially the guitar sounds. Looks like the edge is happy to embrace his past more on this album.

This incident happened during the credits, the band played "I will Follow" from their first album, and rocked that palce. The only logical/sensible conclusion is bono getting out of hand with the audience.:) Can anyone say LiveAid???

Onother great moment from a great band...Flo

It always Rains on Election Day

2004-11-02T07:50:00.000-08:00

Raining like a Mother here in Louisville. Made it to the polls at 8:20am and walked right in and out in no time, kewl. Had a quick bite to eat and hit the day. I hope we get an answer tonight, I'm tired of politics and ready to focus on having fun again...Flo

Take the World's Smallest Political Quiz. www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html

2004-10-29T10:14:00.000-07:00

Another shot of the Goliath, hell they had more boats and jetskis riding behind, gotta stop at THAT Party next time...

2004-10-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

This was too Cool, about 8 House Boats tied together cruising the lake!!!!

2004-10-29T10:12:00.000-07:00

Back to the Lake, Yeeee Hawwww!!!!!!

2004-10-29T10:11:00.000-07:00

Top View of WaterFall...

2004-10-29T10:10:00.000-07:00

Kick Ass Shot of WaterFall...

2004-10-29T10:06:00.000-07:00

Stopped by an Old Civil War site where the Battle of Spring Mill took place almost over a Century ago...

2004-10-29T10:05:00.000-07:00

Came to a cool WaterFall...

2004-10-29T10:04:00.001-07:00

Cruising by Conelly Bottom Marina...

2004-10-29T10:04:00.000-07:00

We then hit the Lake...

2004-10-29T08:22:00.000-07:00

Here's boat #10 in the Fleet rolling by...

2004-10-29T08:19:00.000-07:00

Man the Helm Matie!!!!

2004-10-29T08:10:00.000-07:00

Here's a shot of our 'backyard'

2004-10-29T08:09:00.000-07:00

Here's the 'living' area of the houseboat

2004-10-29T08:07:00.000-07:00

Here's a pic of me and 52's IT guru moontrains from last weekend's trip to Lake Cumberland KY. That houseboat ruled you all...Flo

First Post

2004-10-28T14:49:00.000-07:00

Hey all, while my primary focus here is to promote indie bands through http://52media.blogspot.com/ I wanted to set-up shop here for pictures, music, weekly rants, and anything and everything else that's going on with 52media .

Enjoy and thanks for stopping in...Flo