A furloughed federal tax attorney is turning his childhood dream into a reality with more time on his hands during the nearly monthlong government shutdown.
Furloughed IRS tax attorney Isaac Stein, 31, is selling hot dogs from his “Shysters Dogs” stand, whose motto is “the only honest rip off in D.C.”
For Stein, running a food stand is a childhood dream, and he’s using the government shutdown as an opportunity to live it out.
“There you are, ma’am,” Stein said to a customer Wednesday. “Don’t forget your soft drink. Thank you so much.”
At lunchtime, the long line at 1st and M streets Northeast to get a hot dog from Stein’s stand is sometimes 25 people deep. He cooks the food and runs the business himself.
Looking like the IRS tax lawyer he is, Stein was dressed Wednesday in a black suit, a crisp white button down and red tie. He said he’s having a wonderful time selling hot dogs during the shutdown.
“I love that there’s a wide mix of customers here. There are people in service industries, there are government workers, there are tech workers. I love learning from everyone,” he told WTOP. “It was a combination of really liking the community here, which that’s the majority here. And then I’d say 25 to 30% of the reason is logistics.”
Stein sells his unique style hot dogs — with mustard and sauerkraut — and an RC Cola for $10. He said he sells the less-popular RC Cola because he believes it’s the best tasting soft drink.
Anticipating a government shutdown, Stein started the permitting process with the city in September and opened on Oct. 8.
Stein stores his wheeled cart stand nearby at a commercial kitchen and pushes it about a half mile to and from his spot each day.
“This is a blast. I get to hang out with people, talk to people all day. I love learning,” he said.
His customers are enthralled with the business.
Carol Banta, who stood in line for a while, is also a government lawyer. She said her agency is “still operating.”
“It’s a nice day and we need lunch!” she said.
Others including Retha Maddox waited in line for 30 minutes to get a hot dog.
“I want to support Isaac. I think what he is doing is great! I hate that he is laid off,” she said.
Stein said due to his success, he’ll continue the business on the weekends once the shutdown ends. But he doesn’t plan to quit his day job.
“I absolutely intend to return to my federal job, as soon as I can. Whenever I’m called back, I intend to go back to the office, and the idea from there is to do this on weekends,” he said.
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