{"id":464687,"date":"2026-09-15T18:06:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T18:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/464687\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T18:06:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T18:06:11","slug":"he-quit-his-caltrans-job-to-run-a-sacramento-hot-dog-stand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/464687\/","title":{"rendered":"He quit his Caltrans job to run a Sacramento hot dog stand"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trading a state paycheck for a sidewalk food cart is practically unheard of. To do so means leaving behind a life that job-seekers spend months, if not years, navigating administrative hurdles<\/a> to attain.<\/p>\n

Yet, here\u2019s a California state worker who walked away from his pension track for a life full of hot dogs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Drew Schmidt, 45, left the stability of his California Department of Transportation gig to launch his Sacramento-based hot dog venture, Between the Buns 916, earlier this summer. He made a choice between long absences from home or being present with his wife.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing that tipped the decision for me to do this and leave Caltrans was being away from home,\u201d Schmidt said.<\/p>\n

Caltrans and food<\/p>\n

After working in catering during the height of the pandemic, Schmidt shifted gears to be a highway maintenance worker for Caltrans. He began to do highway landscaping out of Merced, taking a roughly two-hour daily commute from Sacramento for this new endeavor.<\/p>\n

When winter arrived, Caltrans dispatched him east to Caples Lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains to work as a chain controller \u2014 part of an annual seasonal draw from valley yards to keep heavy mountain passes operational.<\/p>\n

The deployment came with a place to stay and three meals a day. He liked the job but missed cooking in the kitchen.<\/p>\n

Schmidt eventually began making his own menus.<\/p>\n

A food service supervisor position at the Caples Lake facility opened after his first season, and Schmidt jumped at the opportunity.<\/p>\n

Each winter, he headed east to the mountains to unwrap the equipment sealed away the previous spring and take charge of the kitchen. Channeling lessons from his experience catering with Sacramento-based Chef Mike Harris at The Chew, where he worked during the pandemic,<\/a> Schmidt managed staff, forecasted inventory and built custom weekly menus for the Caples Lake crew.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would meet with the crew every day and ask if there were things they wanted,\u201d Schmidt said. \u201cMeatloaf was a big one. They loved that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Far from home<\/p>\n

The supervisory role brought his culinary training full circle, but the winter rotations carried a personal cost. Schmidt\u2019s wife was in Sacramento while he spent his winters at Caples Lake.<\/p>\n

Their first holiday season as a married couple was marked by health challenges and subsequent winters were spent miles apart.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne element was to be home,\u201d Schmidt said of his decision to leave civil service. \u201cMy wife is my best friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back in Sacramento, his wife, Marina, would often visit a hot dog stand near her office. One day when buying lunch last year, the operator told her he was retiring and selling the stand.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when she had an idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe calls me, and she\u2019s like, \u2018Hey, I want you to talk to (him). He\u2019s going to sell the hot dog cart,\u2019\u201d Schmidt said. \u201cShe knows I\u2019ve always wanted to do a food truck or something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Drew Drew Schmidt, a former state worker, prepares hot dogs at his stand on Richards Boulevard in Sacramento on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. Schmidt says the secret to his hot dogs is fresh, all-beef Burgess Brothers links. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com Between the Buns 916 is born<\/p>\n

After meeting with his now-predecessor over Jimboy\u2019s Tacos, Schmidt purchased the food cart \u2014 which typically costs between $3,000 and $5,000 \u2014 in November and officially launched Between the Buns 916 in mid-June.<\/p>\n

Schmidt finds similarities between his new venture and feeding highway crews in the Sierra. He spends his shifts slinging fast lunches, chatting with customers and testing out new menu items.<\/p>\n

Those weekly specials rotate constantly, including grilled chicken sandwiches, meatball subs and Philly cheesesteaks. The core menu at Between the Buns 916 is anchored by an $6 classic hot dog, an $8 Polish dog and an $8 spicy hot link \u2014 coupled with chips, soda and water for $1.50.<\/p>\n

Combo meals include two hot dogs, chips and a drink for $11; a hot link, chips and a beverage for $10 and a polish dog, chips and a drink also for $10. Drink options vary from Coke to iced tea while chip options include Doritos, Lays potato chips and Funyuns.<\/p>\n

Schmidt sets up shop from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Metro Center office complex, at 2710 Gateway Oaks Drive just off Interstate 5. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, Between the Buns 916 shifts locations to the intersection of Richards Boulevard and North 10th Street from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., serving lunch crowds just a few blocks from the California Highway Patrol headquarters.<\/p>\n

\"Paul Paul Martinez of Sacramento enjoys a chili dog from Between the Buns 916, a hot dog stand owned by former state worker Drew Schmidt, on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com Added value<\/p>\n

Leif Dubois, who helps manage the Metro Center complex, approached Schmidt after seeing him on Richard Boulevard. Similar to Schmidt\u2019s wife, Dubois ordered hot dogs from the cart\u2019s previous owner and always wanted the cart at the complex to bolster its tenant amenities.<\/p>\n

When companies consider office space, Dubois said, amenities like a gym, lounge and food options are often on prospective tenants\u2019 list.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe try to go above and beyond for tenants and sometimes it just marks a box if someone\u2019s looking for a place to lease,\u201d Dubois said. \u201cWe\u2019ll get someone from out east looking to open up a new spot in Sacramento \u2026 that might just check the box on a corporate level.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also brings a level of excitement for those working nearby.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey look forward to what\u2019s going to be the next (weekly special) because you can only eat a Jack in the Box so many times,\u201d Dubois said.<\/p>\n

And for Schmidt, he\u2019s happy to be surrounded by people, giving him a glimpse at chatting with the crew at Caples Lake.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018I\u2019m out here on the ground with people having a great time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published September 15, 2026 at 5:00 AM.<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Corey Schmidt<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n

Corey Schmidt is a watchdog reporter for The Sacramento Bee, focusing on Folsom, El Dorado Hills and Sacramento County\u2019s eastern suburbs. Previously, he was the government watchdog reporter for the St. Cloud Times in Minnesota. Schmidt received his bachelor\u2019s degree from DePaul University in Chicago and his master\u2019s degree from Yale University.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Trading a state paycheck for a sidewalk food cart is practically unheard of. To do so means leaving…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":464688,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-464687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=464687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464687\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/464688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=464687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=464687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=464687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}