Originally a movie-maker, former Terra Restaurant owner David Price has parlayed his love of food into a mobile dining experience on wheels.
By Michael Aushenker / Special to The Malibu Times
He produced the original “Leprechaun” horror flick and his father ran Universal Studios and Columbia. So how did David Price wind up selling gourmet hot dogs from the back of his Mini-Cooper? Two words: “foodie” and “recession.”
The step-grandson of Roy Huggins (creator of TV classics “The Fugitive,” “Rockford Files” and “77 Sunset Strip”) and the son of studio head Frank Price (who oversaw blockbusters “Ghostbusters,” “Tootsie” and “Gandhi”), Price initially entered the family business. Price directed “Children of the Corn II” and “Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde” and produced the original “Leprechaun” (starring Jennifer Aniston and Warwick Davis), launching a lucrative ‘90s horror franchise.
But a long-held passion for food led Price to set aside the camera for a while in 2007, when he entered Pasadena’s Cordon Bleu School. Soon, he was on his way up in the restaurant business, partnering with Chris and Christine Bocchino to run the now-defunct Terra restaurant on Pacific Coast Highway just west of Las Flores Canyon Road.
Price said working in a kitchen bears a marked similarity to Hollywood.
“Basically, it’s a nightly show,” he said. “Your crew is the kitchen staff. The chef is the director. The nice thing about a restaurant versus a film is that you can touch it!”
The trio’s Mediterranean eatery was popular in the community, and local celebrities such as Mel Gibson, Pierce Brosnan, Shannon Dougherty, Sally Field and Pink—what Price shorthands “the usual suspects”—frequented the establishment. But high rent costs and a small local population in Malibu made it difficult for the restaurant to operate at a profit, leading to its closure last year.
“Our Zagat scores put us right under Nobu,” Price said. “I would like to have kept going. You just don’t have the population in Malibu to support it. It wasn’t worth going into debt.”
After Terra shuttered in spring 2011, Price needed to sweat out the recession before reopening a restaurant. He moved from Malibu to Pacific Palisades, bent on launching his next venue there. However, with the economy still struggling, he revised his game plan and in early April debuted a unique new venture.
“I always had this idea for hot dogs,” Price confessed. “They’re recession-proof.”
Using a cart pulled by a Mini-Cooper, Price sells gourmet hot dogs to the masses under the name “Malibu Hot Dogs.” The “Malibu” moniker was a no-brainer, Price said, given his former home on Malibu Canyon Rd. And he adds that Malibu communicates “a lifestyle, a vibe. It’s known worldwide.”
The quirky new operation makes regular stops in Santa Monica, the Palisades and, naturally, Malibu. Malibu Hot Dogs appears on weekday afternoons at Cross Creek, Zuma or Malibu Canyon Road. In the Palisades, Price’s truck appears outside the public library and on Swarthmore Ave.
To see which sausage would triumph in this dog-eat-dog industry, Price held a taste test among friends. After blind-testing Oscar Meyer and Nathan’s, Hebrew National won the top dog mantle.
Price cleverly named his gourmet sausage entr/es on his reasonably priced menu (listed on a surfboard) after different sections of town. “The Catalina” is appropriately Greeked-out with feta and olives, while “The Topanga,” a bone thrown to the health-conscious contingent, is a veggie dog topped with sour cream, cucumber, cole slaw and tomato. There’s also a “Zuma dog” and a “Dume,” of course. Price’s biggest sellers remain “La Costa” (a Mexican perro caliente doused with pico de gallo, cilantro, sour cream, avocado and jalapenos) and “The Colony Dog” (cream cheese, lox, onions, capers and tomato). Soy and turkey dog substitutes are available.
So far, things are going swimmingly for the new business. In October, Price plans to begin franchising Malibu Hot Dogs with a second cart covering the San Fernando Valley. One day Price would like to see Malibu Hot Dogs feeding Santa Barbara, San Diego and San Francisco, before spreading nationwide.
To Price, the advantage to running a hot dog stand over a full-fledged restaurant remains obvious.
“You’re not dealing with any overhead,” he says. “I don’t pay rent, and I set my own hours and work whenever I want to.”
Plus, there’s a whole different crowd. Instead of the well-heeled, he’s catering to families and kids.
“Hot dogs just make people smile,” Price said.
To follow Price’s cart, visit MalibuHotDogs.com.