Skippy’s big comeback

Posted October 28, 2013 By Jeff Morganteen

Dawn Lavigne grew up in a little hot dog truck just off the northbound lane of Hylan Boulevard in Staten Island.

A year ago, however, Superstorm Sandy sent torrents of storm surge water through her Midland Beach neighborhood, damaging her home and destroying her business — the 1956 International Metro Harvester van known throughout Staten Island as Skippy’s Hot Dogs, a lunch truck that had been stationed on Hylan Boulevard since 1962. The storm surge ruined the small, red-and-white lunch truck that served as her livelihood and displaced Lavigne, 48, and her two teenage sons.

Dawn Lavigne inherited the old Skippy’s Hot Dogs truck from her grandfather. Sandy forced her to buy new wheels for her spot on Hylan Boulevard — and inspired a bigger expansion. Photo: Jeff Morganteen

Lavigne first worked at the old truck alongside her grandfather as an 11-year-old girl more than 30 years ago. She had run the hot dog truck since she was 18 — until the truck was submerged under the storm surge last October. She returned home this past Christmas, but getting the family business back proved a trying process.

Running the hot dog truck came easy. Dealing with the after-effects of having to be rescued from her two-story home did not. She’s decided to stay in Staten Island because of her sons, who are still in school, but the storm still haunts her.

“Me and my neighbors, we can’t sleep,” she said. “If you hear the wind howling, you aren’t sleeping.”

A year later, Lavigne is not only is back serving regulars at her Hylan Boulevard location; she also plans to open a brick-and-mortar store in Richmond Terrace, on the north side of Staten Island, with business partner John Kolbaska, who worked as a contractor on Lavigne’s damaged home. She took out a passbook loan — which uses her savings as collateral — to pay for a replacement truck: a larger, more spacious model that makes Lavigne nervous to maneuver on the streets.

“You see me driving?” she asked one customer on Monday. “Get out of the way.”

Kolbaska, a 35-year-old construction company owner from Eltingville in Staten Island, became a regular customer at Skippy’s about six years ago. When he saw the small truck missing from Hylan Boulevard, he learned about its demise from Lavigne. This December, he started a Facebook page — without Lavigne’s permission — with the goal of trying to collect donations to repair the truck.

“She really didn’t want the handouts,” Kolbaska said.

Kolbaska began joking with Lavigne about opening up a Skippy’s storefront somewhere along the water, maybe New Jersey. To his surprise, Lavigne expressed interest in becoming business partners, and they signed a lease on the new restaurant this past week. They hope to open the new store by December, with an expanded menu. Kolbaska wants to expand into other boroughs if the first storefront works out, he said.

Lavigne said she received several offers in the past to open a storefront. She liked the small, little truck and admittedly had grown complacent. The storm changed everything. It pushed Lavigne and her family far from their comfort zone, and the new truck forced her to re-examine why she had stayed in the hot-dog business for so long.

“If it wasn’t for Sandy, I probably never would have changed,” she said. “I was content with my little old truck out there. I think I did it because it brought me closer to my grandfather and now I do it because he’s with me. I do it for me now.”

A steady stream of customers visited the truck on Monday, asking about the old van, plans for the new store, and businesses and families that had not bounced back as well as Lavigne. She expects to run the hot dog truck and her partner will handle the store — after she shows him how to cook Skippy’s signature chili and onions.

“The old truck got caught in the dust-up?” asked John Craig, a 64-year-old retired New York City Fire Department lieutenant, before ordering almost the same meal he has asked for since age 16. He used to order four hot dogs with onions and mustard; now he orders two.

“I was upset that she wasn’t here,” Craig said. “We’re glad to see her back.”

Lavigne could not find replacement parts for her original truck after it was devoured by the storm, so she looked for a complete replacement. She found one in Chicago, she recalled, but backed out because at the last minute because of a disagreement over the deal. Then she found a white, boxy 1995 Grumman lunch truck in Staten Island that had sat unused for eight years until she took out the loan and bought it.

Skippy’s Hot Dogs came back officially this past September. The newer, larger van lacks the — the bubble-lettered, red-and-yellow handpainted logo and the black-and-white mural of her grandparents on the driver’s side — that adorned the old one. It’s also much larger. Her grandfather suffered from polio, and designed the trunk’s interior so he could prepare orders just by turning in a circle. The new setup forced Lavigne to become more mobile.

Lavigne rescued from the old van an aging black-and-white photo of her grandparents and the hot-dog-truck that now oversees her prep station. She said her resourcefulness came from her grandfather’s tutelage.

“If not, I would have had to get a real job,” Lavigne said. “I don’t even know how to do that.”

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<h1>Skippy’s big comeback</h1>Dawn Lavigne grew up in a little hot dog truck just off the northbound lane of Hylan Boulevard in Staten Island.
A year ago, however, Superstorm Sandy sent torrents of storm surge water through her Midland Beach neighborhood, damaging her home and destroying her business — the 1956 International Metro Harvester van known throughout Staten Island as Skippy’s Hot Dogs, a lunch truck that had been stationed on Hylan Boulevard since 1962. The storm surge ruined the small, red-and-white lunch truck that served as her livelihood and displaced Lavigne, 48, and her two teenage sons.
<div id="attachment_12820" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-12820" class="size-medium wp-image-12820" alt="SKIPPY_EDIT_3" src="http://www.thenewyorkworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/SKIPPY_EDIT_3-300x225.jpg" width="300" height="225" srcset="thenewyorkworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/SKIPPY_EDIT_3-300x225.jpg 300w, thenewyorkworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/SKIPPY_EDIT_3-400x300.jpg 400w, thenewyorkworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/SKIPPY_EDIT_3.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Dawn Lavigne inherited the old Skippy’s Hot Dogs truck from her grandfather. Sandy forced her to buy new wheels for her spot on Hylan Boulevard — and inspired a bigger expansion. Photo: Jeff Morganteen</div>
Lavigne first worked at the old truck alongside her grandfather as an 11-year-old girl more than 30 years ago. She had run the hot dog truck since she was 18 — until the truck was submerged under the storm surge last October. She returned home this past Christmas, but getting the family business back proved a trying process.
Running the hot dog truck came easy. Dealing with the after-effects of having to be rescued from her two-story home did not. She’s decided to stay in Staten Island because of her sons, who are still in school, but the storm still haunts her.
“Me and my neighbors, we can’t sleep,” she said. “If you hear the wind howling, you aren’t sleeping.”
A year later, Lavigne is not only is back serving regulars at her Hylan Boulevard location; she also plans to open a brick-and-mortar store in Richmond Terrace, on the north side of Staten Island, with business partner John Kolbaska, who worked as a contractor on Lavigne’s damaged home. She took out a passbook loan — which uses her savings as collateral — to pay for a replacement truck: a larger, more spacious model that makes Lavigne nervous to maneuver on the streets.
“You see me driving?” she asked one customer on Monday. “Get out of the way.”
Kolbaska, a 35-year-old construction company owner from Eltingville in Staten Island, became a regular customer at Skippy’s about six years ago. When he saw the small truck missing from Hylan Boulevard, he learned about its demise from Lavigne. This December, he started a Facebook page — without Lavigne’s permission — with the goal of trying to collect donations to repair the truck.
“She really didn’t want the handouts,” Kolbaska said.
Kolbaska began joking with Lavigne about opening up a Skippy’s storefront somewhere along the water, maybe New Jersey. To his surprise, Lavigne expressed interest in becoming business partners, and they signed a lease on the new restaurant this past week. They hope to open the new store by December, with an expanded menu. Kolbaska wants to expand into other boroughs if the first storefront works out, he said.
Lavigne said she received several offers in the past to open a storefront. She liked the small, little truck and admittedly had grown complacent. The storm changed everything. It pushed Lavigne and her family far from their comfort zone, and the new truck forced her to re-examine why she had stayed in the hot-dog business for so long.
“If it wasn’t for Sandy, I probably never would have changed,” she said. “I was content with my little old truck out there. I think I did it because it brought me closer to my grandfather and now I do it because he’s with me. I do it for me now.”
A steady stream of customers visited the truck on Monday, asking about the old van, plans for the new store, and businesses and families that had not bounced back as well as Lavigne. She expects to run the hot dog truck and her partner will handle the store — after she shows him how to cook Skippy’s signature chili and onions.
“The old truck got caught in the dust-up?” asked John Craig, a 64-year-old retired New York City Fire Department lieutenant, before ordering almost the same meal he has asked for since age 16. He used to order four hot dogs with onions and mustard; now he orders two.
“I was upset that she wasn’t here,” Craig said. “We’re glad to see her back.”
Lavigne could not find replacement parts for her original truck after it was devoured by the storm, so she looked for a complete replacement. She found one in Chicago, she recalled, but backed out because at the last minute because of a disagreement over the deal. Then she found a white, boxy 1995 Grumman lunch truck in Staten Island that had sat unused for eight years until she took out the loan and bought it.
Skippy’s Hot Dogs came back officially this past September. The newer, larger van lacks the — the bubble-lettered, red-and-yellow handpainted logo and the black-and-white mural of her grandparents on the driver’s side — that adorned the old one. It’s also much larger. Her grandfather suffered from polio, and designed the trunk’s interior so he could prepare orders just by turning in a circle. The new setup forced Lavigne to become more mobile.
Lavigne rescued from the old van an aging black-and-white photo of her grandparents and the hot-dog-truck that now oversees her prep station. She said her resourcefulness came from her grandfather’s tutelage.
“If not, I would have had to get a real job,” Lavigne said. “I don’t even know how to do that.”

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