Santa Clara hot dog vendor kicked out of normal spot for Super Bowl's clean zone

Businesses in San Francisco and Santa Clara are gearing up for what they hope is an influx of customers during Super Bowl week. But one long-time vendor in the South Bay has been shut down, a casualty of what the NFL calls its "clean zone." 

Howard Gibbons knows a good hot dog when he sees it. Known as "The Hot Dog Dude" of Santa Clara, he takes pride in his product.

"Freshly chopped onions. None of that fake bagged stuff," he said, as he set up his condiments table.  

But for Gibbons, the success of his business has always depended on three things: location, location, location.  For the last 12 years, his hot dog cart has called the underpass to the Great America VTA station home.  But unfortunately, it's right next to Levi's Stadium, the home of Super Bowl LX.  

"They shut down all vendors," Howard said. "All street vendors are not allowed within what they call their 'clean zone.' Why it's called the 'clean zone,' I don't know. I didn't know I was dirty. I thought I was a pretty clean guy."

On Saturday, he was hired for a private event, providing lunch at a local Adult Education Center.  

But as of last Thursday, he's been kicked out of his normal location, where he serves commuters walking to and from the VTA train station.  And for the last three weeks, he's lost about half his business as the VTA commuter parking lot was closed for the exclusive use of the NFL.  

Gibbons finds that ironic since for the last eight years, he said the city has been trying to attract vendors to the area.

"And now they're being closed down for this event," he said. "It's kind of like, you got 'em out of the closet, you got 'em to come out and be clean, and then you tell 'em, well, you don't get to play in the big game. You're sitting the big game out."

As he hung up his "Hot Dog Dude" banner above the serving area, Gibbons said that when the Super Bowl comes to town, the NFL basically owns the area around the stadium, including banning any advertising within the clean zone.

"Me putting this up during the Super Bowl would be, 'Call the FBI. We got an advertisement violator here,'" he said, laughing.

But Howard is luckier than most. The Bay Area Host Committee has offered to subsidize some of his losses for the weeks before and after the game. His daughter, Wendy Rogers, said it helps that he's so well-connected in the community.

"He's pretty well known. I mean, he knows the mayor, he knows everybody," she said. "You know, I try to call him sometimes and he's like, 'I can't talk, I'm in a meeting.' He's at a City Hall meeting, letting 'em know, and fighting for what's right."

What doesn't feel right to Gibbons is what's happening to all the other vendors, especially with all the big talk about the economic boost of hosting the Super Bowl.

"I guess they'll play," he said. "The billionaires will make their money. And they'll leave a mess, and 'Y'all have a nice day.'"

Gibbons said he used to operate a full-sized food truck 12 years ago but switched to a hot dog cart when they began building Levi's Stadium, so he could stay in the area.  He said he was allowed to operate when the Super Bowl was last played there in 2016, but this time he's been completely shut down.

Super Bowl organizers say there are closures to streets and public infrastructure surrounding Levi's Stadium for safety and security reasons for the event. There are similar closures around the Moscone Center in San Francisco. 

All closures for the Super Bowl are available on Santa Clara's website.