On hot, humid Fridays in late July, many South Florida middle schoolers try to make the most out of their final weekends of summer by cooling off at a local pool, planning sleepovers, or escaping the sweltering sun at the mall, the movies or in front of a video game console. However, on Friday, July 25, 11-year-old Derek Belz was hard at work outside in his driveway, slinging and dressing Chicago-style hot dogs for his catering business, Derek’s Dog House.
Rocking a Hot Dog University t-shirt and working alongside his parents turned business partners, Melissa and Joe Belz, he took orders from neighbors, friends and colleagues of his parents behind the 10.5 foot long industrial hot dog cart, complete with two counter top steam wells, a grill and condiment station. The event was an anniversary celebration for Joe’s co-worker Sherri, recognizing her five years of work with his real estate team.
When Jozef, Joe’s colleague and a family friend, ordered a hot dog Chicago-style with everything on it, Derek took the Vienna Beef dog tucked in a poppy seed bun and proceeded to do what Chicagoans call “dragging it through the garden.” After squeezing on a stripe of mustard, he carefully layered on the chopped onions, sliced tomato, sport peppers, bright green sweet pickle relish and a pickle spear, finishing it off with a sprinkle of celery salt before handing it to his eager customer. Jozef picked the dog up, took a large bite, and proceeded to nod, swallowing before commenting with an emphasis on each syllable “Wow. That is a dog.”
The idea behind Derek’s Dog House started in 2023 when Derek realized a lemonade stand might not be the best business plan to save up for the gaming computer he wanted. Derek had always loved hot dogs, so he thought, why not try a hot dog stand instead? Coincidentally, at the same time Joe ordered a Vienna Beef hot dog kit, Naples Daily News published an article asking local residents what restaurants they wanted in Southwest Florida. The number one choice? Portillo’s, a restaurant chain serving Chicago-style food that Dick Portillo started as a hot dog stand with just $1,100 — and sold for $1 billion. Vienna Beef supplies Portillo’s hot dogs, and after Derek tried the dogs from the kit, the decision to start a Chicago-style hot dog business was a no-brainer…