Thirteen-year-old, Nathan Duszynski, from Holland, Michigan wanted to devote his summer to helping his parents financially. His mom suffers from epilepsy and his dad has Multiple Sclerosis. "I'm just trying to bring in some money for them and the household when they're struggling," the teen told Mackinac Media.
Nate raised enough money to buy a hotdog stand, found a spot to set up shop and investigated the necessary permits. His mom, Lynette Johnson told Mackinac that they cleared Nate's new business with City Hall, and were told he didn't need a business permit. But shortly after Nate opened Nathan's Hot Dog Hut to the public, a city worker shut it down because of "zoning laws that do not allow food carts to compete with downtown restaurants," WZZM reports.
According to Mackinac, many areas of the city are fair game for a food cart, but the spot Nate chose (in the parking lot of a sporting goods store) is on the edge of the downtown commercial zone where food carts are banned.
Holland Mayor Kurt Dykstra offered Nate two other locations to re-open his cart, WZZM reports. But Nate has other plans. According to WFMY News, a packaging company bought the cart from Nate for $2,500 -- more than the teen originally paid for it.
Now, with the profits, Nate and his parents plan to start a petition -- their goal is to change the original law that prohibited him from starting his business in the first place.