Staff writer
Wet weather did not wash out the first Peabody Sunday Cruise, but much-touted vintage cars and motorcycles were barely represented Sunday. Three or four cars and half a dozen motorcycles were on hand.
More food vendors than cars were downtown and interest in the event with small, but attendance was steady throughout the day.
Peabody, Newton, and Florence folks showed up to check out the businesses that were open and to try the street food.
More than one person recognized 1990 Peabody High School graduate Brian Mosiman among the food vendors with a tent, a portable smoker, and just about all the trimmings with which one could smother a large hot dog.
Mosiman’s Grab ’n’ Go Hot Dogs did a steady business in smoked ballpark hot dogs from the west corner of 1st and Walnut Sts.
He lives in Emporia with his wife, Sarah, and two sons, Nick, 10, and Alex, 8. His mother still lives in Peabody, so he and his family visit often.
“I’ve been doing this for about a year,” Mosiman said. “I have a motorcycle and I used to go to cruise events quite a bit. One day a couple of years ago, I was on my way to a cruise in Cassoday and I thought, ‘Why not do the food also, since I am going anyway?’ I like to cook and like grilling outside. It just seemed like a way to make a few extra bucks, stay in touch with people I like to see on the cruise circuit, and do something a little different.”
Mosiman began looking at equipping himself as a traveling food vendor and put thought into what kind of meat could be smoked, served quickly, and dressed up with different condiments to suit different customers’ tastes.
“When I looked at smokers, this style that I bought was the top of the line for portable units,” he said. “The big food trucks were just coming on the market, but that was more commitment to fixing lots of food than I wanted.
“Part of the purpose of the food cart and doing something like this is to show my sons that you can try something that might be a little unusual, but if it is something you enjoy and you can make some money, that means you are not always punching someone else’s time clock. I want them to take responsibility for making their own way in the world when they are adults. And they may need to think of a creative way to make ends meet.”
After Mosiman got his smoker, serving tables, display racks, and pop-up tent, he started out as a vendor at events in Emporia. He has figured out what people do and do not want to dress up a smoked hot dog but adds some unusual items from time to time just to see how they go. Sunday’s condiment choices included fresh avocado along with more pedestrian toppings like cheeses, onions, tomatoes, and banana peppers.
“You learn pretty quick what people do and don’t like,” he said.
The next Peabody Sunday Cruise will be from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 27.