My Favorite Hot Dog Vendor

Tom VanDokkumburg is my favorite hot dog vendor.?

His parents, Webb and Marilyn, moved to Holland from Billings, Montana, where his father had worked for Gambles, then a retail giant. In Holland, Webb worked at WHTC. For 30 years he sold airtime and hosted hunting and fishing programs.

Tom grew up in Holland and attended Holland Public Schools.? He played football in high school and earned All-State honors as a punter and kicker. When he graduated, Tom intended to become a policeman. But because classes weren’t available, Tom chose to attend the fire academy instead. That led to a job at the Holland Fire Department and Station #2, the old firehouse James Huntley had built in the early 1890s on Eighth Street. While Tom was there, the firemen still slept upstairs and slid down a fire pole when they heard the fire alarm.?Tom, like the rest of the firemen, worked twenty-four-hour shifts: He was on a full day, then off a full day, then on a full day, then off for three days.?

While working from Station #2, Tom became the cook and quartermaster. One thing that meant was that early in this shift he’d ride a fire engine to Family Fare to purchase food.? Tom also earned certification as an Emergency Medical Technician.

In the early 1990s, Tom and his wife Chris’ three boys were attending school, which gave Tom the time to engage in other meaningful activities. He found them at Kandu, an organization that parents of children with special needs had created in 1953 to offer both training and employment to their especially gifted children. Tom would leave the firehouse at 8 AM and go to Kandu until 2 PM, and he admits that in those six hours he got more back than what he gave. He worked at Kandu for 19 years.?

While Tom was working at Kandu, someone told Tom about an opening at a group home for adults with special needs for a caregiver. Tom applied and became a weekend caregiver at My Brother’s House. Because I had a family member that during that time, that is where we met Tom.

Meanwhile, Tom and his wife Chris had been growing vegetables in a large garden by their home. But their boys – Matt, Andy, and Ben – weren’t keen on eating them. So, Tom and Chris experimented with recipes, testing them on the crew at the fire station. One of the crew’s favorite concoctions was zucchini relish.? Still, Tom and Chris’ boys wouldn’t eat it until Tom and Chris changed the name to Z-relish!?

In 2009, after retiring from the fire service, on a trip to Florida, Tom got an idea when he met a retiree from New Jersey who was operating a hot dog stand near the beach. Tom wondered if he could do the same in Holland.??

So, Tom purchased a hot dog wagon. He first operated it on the walkway in Kollen Park. But business was slow. When the City asked Tom if he’d sell his hot dogs at the Friday Night Concert Series, which they had moved from Centennial Park to Kollen Park, Tom accepted. That is where my family and I ran into Tom again.??

Then, when the hot dog vendor at the Holland Farmers Market retired, Tom took over his spot. With the increased exposure, Tom was able to snag opportunities at private events.??

The more customers Tom got, the more people asked about his Z-relish and where they could buy it.? In response, Tom contacted Joanne Davidhizar at the MSU Product Center. She coached him through production, packaging, and labeling processes. Then Tom recruited suppliers, food processors, distributors, and stores.

But because Tom loves talking with people, he most enjoys staffing his stand. His personality is as good as his picnic food, and both are exceptional.

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