Growing up in Chicago, I came to appreciate a great hot dog and a fantastic Italian Beef sandwich. Hot dog joints were on every corner, and they were usually operated by scruffy guys you would be afraid to meet on the street. The Health Department has improved the hygiene immensely and weeded out the worst offenders. A new hot dog / beef joint recently opened up in a newly built strip mall by my home. There are ten spaces in the strip mall and four are restaurants. The four are a Mexican, a pizza place, an Italian Café Bistro and the aforementioned hot dog joint. Walking into the hot dog joint, it looked like every other place in the area. The aluminum counters and chairs, tile floors, stainless everywhere, pictures of Old Chicago grace the walls, ketchup in red plastic squeeze bottles, and napkin dispenser adorned the tables. The counter person was very efficient and took our order in a helpful professional manner. The food was delivered hot and good.
There was however, nothing extraordinary about the place. There is a place just like it up the street. Seth Godin always extols the virtues of being different. There is a huge differential in compensation between being good and being extraordinary. My guess is that the operator is good and will no doubt make a living, maybe even a good living with the concept. I am not against making a living, however is that what you want to do? Sitting eating my Italian Beef, I simply posed the question to the universe, why hasn’t someone improved on this concept yet?
