She Quit Zoom to Sell Hot Dogs , Now She Grosses $2K a Day
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Inspired by her Swedish roots, Amelia built Chef Hej Hej from the ground up , one bun, shrimp salad, and pop-up at a time. Here's how.
Written by Ben Huber Last Updated: June 18, 2025Some of the links on DollarSprout point to products or services from partners we trust. If you choose to make a purchase through one, we may earn a commission, which supports the ongoing maintenance and improvement of our site at no additional cost to you. Learn more.
Amelia Eudailey used to log off Zoom calls to attend strategy meetings. These days, she logs off to prep shrimp salad, mash potatoes, and slice sourdough buns , all for a hot dog.
📌 Side Hustle: Swedish hot dog pop-up (Chef Hej Hej) 💰 Revenue: $1,600-$2,000 per event 🗓️ Started: 2023 (full-time since Oct. 2024)Featured Quote:
“I just kept following the things that brought me joy , and somehow it led here.”Not just any hot dog, though.
Amelia is the founder of Chef Hej Hej, a Swedish hot dog pop-up based in San Francisco.
What started as a weekend experiment , squeezed in between her tech job and a part-time restaurant shift , has grown into a full-time food business that now grosses up to $2,000 per event.
Her menu is inspired by a street food dish she first tried in Sweden, but it’s got a distinct Bay Area twist: local sourdough buns, premium seafood, and a nostalgic-but-playful vibe that’s helped Chef Hej Hej stand out in a city crowded with food creatives.
“I didn’t go to culinary school,” she said. “I just kept following the things that brought me joy , and somehow it led here.”
From Tech Job to Tunnbrödsrulle
Before Amelia was slinging $10 hot dogs in the Bay Area, she was navigating a career that spanned scientific research, event management, and healthcare product marketing , eventually landing a role at Zoom.
But even as she climbed the corporate ladder, something didn’t click.
“I kept going back to the joy I felt sharing Swedish food and traditions with my friends and family,” she said. Born in the U.S. but raised with strong ties to her Swedish roots, Amelia made regular trips overseas growing up. The food stuck with her , especially the celebratory dishes: shrimp salad, pickled things, soft bread wraps, and seasonal sweets.
After moving to San Francisco in 2020, she became enamored with the local food scene. Instead of enrolling in culinary school, she applied for a weekend line cook position at Octavia, one of the city’s most acclaimed restaurants. There, she learned how to work the line, handle volume, and prep like a pro.
Six months later, she spotted an Instagram post from a neighborhood bodega looking for food vendors.
She replied. Picked a date. Created a menu. And just like that, Chef Hej Hej was born.
Originally, it was a broader “Swede-ish” concept , meatball breakfast burritos, seasonal baked goods, and inventive open-faced sandwiches. But one dish quickly stole the show: Amelia’s take on tunnbrödsrulle, a Swedish street food wrap traditionally filled with a hot dog, mashed potatoes, shrimp salad, and pickles.
Amelia’s tunnbrödsrulle-inspired hot dogs quickly became the standout item on her Swede-ish menu.“I decided to build it into a bun instead of a wrap,” she said. “It made the ingredients pop more visually, and it felt more approachable. Plus, I live in the sourdough capital of the world , I wanted to tie that in.”
She started sourcing her buns from Rize Up, a Black-owned San Francisco bakery known for its vibrant, naturally leavened loaves. The result: a dish that was equal parts comfort food and cultural love letter.
Related: How This Couple Makes $1,000 a Month Cooking on TikTok
The Pop-Up That Started It All
Amelia’s first pop-up was ambitious. Maybe too ambitious.
She was still working full-time in tech and picking up shifts at the restaurant on weekends , all while trying to prep for her first Hej Hej service. She created a full menu with multiple hot dogs, a Swedish meatball sub, two desserts, and sourced everything herself from local vendors.
“I wish I could say I tested all the recipes in advance,” she said, laughing. “But I was just trying to get everything ready in time.”
Despite the scramble, the turnout was massive , thanks in part to friends and co-workers who came out to support. She grossed $1,540 that day, with roughly $575 in food costs, $225 in labor, and around $500 in one-time gear purchases: coolers, serving utensils, bus bins, propane, packaging, and more. After everything, she cleared about $240 in profit.
Her first event was scrappy, crowded, and chaotic , but it proved there was real demand for Chef Hej Hej.That didn’t include the hours of unpaid labor she put in. Or the chaos that followed.
“I was so tired at the end of the day that I accidentally put a pot of hot dog water in the back of my car,” she said. “Then I drove up a hill in San Francisco and heard it crash. The water went everywhere. I pulled over and the hot dogs literally rolled down the street.”
It was exhausting. It was messy. And she couldn’t wait to do it again.
Related: How This PA Built a $10K/Month Recipe Blog on the Side
Finding Her Flow
While Amelia’s debut event pulled in strong sales, the months that followed were more unpredictable.
“After that first pop-up, I had a few where I barely made $800,” she said. Without a permanent residency, she rotated between wine bars, restaurants, and neighborhood spots across San Francisco , each with its own audience, vibe, and unknowns.
Still, the experimentation paid off.
Instead of chasing variety on the menu, Amelia narrowed her focus to one standout item: her Swedish hot dog. She added a few smart upsells , like bags of imported Swedish candy and branded Chef Hej Hej merch , and finally turned tipping on through her Square app. Together, those changes pushed her typical gross revenue to $1,600-$2,000 per event, with around 65% of that translating to take-home income.
Branded merch and candy bundles became simple upsells , and helped turn Chef Hej Hej into a recognizable brand.“The candy was such a low-effort add-on,” she said. “And tipping felt weird at first, but it’s made a huge difference.”
Streamlining also helped behind the scenes. Fewer menu items meant less prep and less waste. She could focus on perfecting her core ingredients and spend more time sourcing from her favorite vendors: sourdough buns from Rize Up, shrimp from a local fishmonger, produce from the farmers market.
But even with tighter operations, the logistics were demanding. As a mobile pop-up without a brick-and-mortar, Amelia doesn’t get the perks of restaurant-scale ordering. There’s no bulk discount, no scheduled deliveries. Every pop-up means days of driving from supplier to supplier, loading bins, and prepping ingredients.
Then there’s labor , her biggest ongoing expense.
“I’ve only been profitable because of all the friends who’ve helped for free,” she said. “If you’re reading this, you know who you are , I owe you the most.”
Related: 20 Low-Cost Online Business Ideas With High Profit Potential
The Day It Got Real
Six months into running Chef
Final Thoughts
The bottom line: a little research on she quit zoom sell goes a long way. Compare your options, watch for seasonal offers, and never pay full price when a better deal is one click away.
Originally published at dollarsprout.com.
Ben Huber
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