VIDEO: Fair Lawn Man's Route 46 Hot Dog Cart Has a Cult-Like Following

Parked next to an adult video store, near a noisy jughandle on Route 46 West, the Curbside Cafe is not in a location you'd expect to buy a hot dog.

But the red and white checkered truck—owned by Gene DiGiacomo of Fair Lawn and Frank Cocchi of Pine Brook—gets customers from as far away as Pennsylvania, even in the winter. Watch the attached video to see what the truck is all about.

Cocchi and DiGiacomo are former East Orange police officers who started this business near New Road in Parsippany when they retired two years ago. Mostly, it was because they didn't want desk jobs, according to Cocchi.

"We were partners, and sometimes we'd have to go to the courthouse in Newark and we'd see a hot dog truck, and I said, 'I like that kind of atmosphere," he said. "That's the kind of environment I want to be in.'''

So they bought a trailer, outfitted it with propane grills, and found a spot along the highway, next to the parking lot of the . They also have a second truck, which can be rented out for events. In the summer, they do a lot of pool parties, according to DiGiacomo, 60.

One secret to their success is the high-quality of their dogs—they don't use Sabretts, Cocchi said proudly—and they don't let them soak in water all day, getting soggy. Their chili is homemade by DiGiacomo's daughter, Laura, who helps run the truck. 

Many of their customers are truckers and cops. But families also stop there for franks.

Rudy Dimmelmeier Jr. and his son Ryan, 11, both Parsippany residents, are regulars at the truck, along with Ryan's grandfather, Rudy Dimmelmeier Sr.

"They're not waterlogged,'' Dimmelmeier Sr. said. "They're made fresh.''

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