It’s been said that Andrew Summers has elevated the simple hotdog cart to a social enterprise, offering customers good ‘dogs, good conversation, and a chance to do good in the community.
This year marks two decades that hotdog-loving customers can find the owner of Streetmeat Bistro outside of Chapters on Yonge Street, just south of Davis Drive, most weekends.
And while you wait for your ‘street meat’, you may learn about who is slated to be the beneficiary of the fundraising jar that has a permanent place on the cart.
“Andrew makes street meat a social experience,” Newmarket resident Janet Murphy wrote in her review of the Bistro on its Facebook page. “Good food, condiments galore and great company. My personal fave is the veggie dog and I am told the sausage is awesome. Delicious hot sauce and ongoing fundraising jar are an added bonus.”
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Summers’ latest fundraising drive will see the $3,410 raised since mid-February from a portion of his hotdog sales and donations from hundreds of local customers divvied up three ways for causes close to the community’s heart.
The funds to be handed over Saturday, June 22 at 11 a.m. include equal amounts of $1,136 for Newmarket’s mental health crisis program, 310-COPE, Armitage Village Public School’s breakfast program, and “some disadvantaged kids who will be very happy with new bikes, scooters, baseball gloves, and more,” Summers said.
Jill Kellie will accept the donation on behalf of 310-COPE, and Armitage Village principal Shanti Caswell will be in attendance to represent the school.
Part of the idea behind this fundraiser was to honour the memory of the late Michael Norton, a Newmarket resident who, like Summers, donated much of his time and money to those in need in the community. Norton was a big booster of Armitage Village and contributed significantly to its breakfast program.
“Three years ago on the 29th of this month, I lost my wife to breast cancer,” Summers said, of his late wife, Doreen Langdon-Summers. “We had investigated medical marijuana and found out that it was quite expensive. So, I had made a post on my Facebook page trying to get lots of customers to come out to the hotdog cart to boost sales to help out. Well, lots of people came out and not only bought lunch, but also donated tons of money.”
Within three weekends, Summers’ customers donated more than $4,000 to help with the family’s health care expenses.
“The fundraisers that I do are just a way of saying thank you and giving back what was given to us,” he said.
There’s no cause too big or small that Summers won’t take on, fundraise for and help get the word out.
From raising funds for a young boy who lost an eye in a tree-climbing fall and a pup who needed emergency veterinary surgery, to offering a complimentary hotdog lunch in exchange for a donation to the Newmarket Food Pantry, Summers always has something on the go.
“I like doing these things because they are so good-spirited and fun,” Summers wrote to his Facebook fans June 16. “This coming Saturday, (June 22), there will be something special for anyone who donated any amount to the jar ... lunch is on me!”
Streetmeat Bistro operates on weekends year-round from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the parking lot of Chapters, 17440 Yonge St., Newmarket.
Take note that Summers will be away on vacation the weekends of June 29 and 30, and July 6 and 7.
