In conversation with the man behind Bob’s Dogs
Tucked beside some bushes just outside of the Bullring and across from Rozanski Hall is a modest hot dog stand playing cheerful music. The stand, called Bob’s Dogs, is open year-round: rain, snow, or shine. The man behind the stand is none other than the titular Bob, and he always greets his customers with a smile.
But life wasn’t always all smiles for Bogdan “Bob” Izdebski.
“You know, when I come over to Canada, it was really hard because I didn’t speak [English] at all, and I never [went] to school, so I learned English by ear,” he said.
After working in a factory making car parts for six long years, Bob decided it was time to do something for himself.
“It was so hard,” he said, referring to the toll factory work had on his health. “I was thinking to do something myself and—because that was the cheapest way you can get it—I just bought the hot dog stand.”
Bob explained that he first set up his stand in the city of Erin, then moved to Branion Plaza at the University of Guelph after being contacted by Guelph’s Food Services. However, he was initially unable to keep up with the high rent.
“And then [the university] tried to kick me out, and the students…” Bob paused and gestured to an Ontarion article on his wall, reading the headline, “‘Students fight to keep beloved hot dog vendor,’ and they offered me this spot here.”
After setting up his stand in the new location, Bob was overwhelmed by the support from thousands of students: “I [fell] in love and I said, ‘Oh my gosh, it doesn’t matter what, I be here.’”
“Financially, [it] was terribly hard for twelve years. But after that, [it] was much better. And I am happy and I am standing here […] for twelve years, because of kids like you,” Bob said with a laugh, gesturing to the faces of smiling students on his stand’s walls.
But back in his home country Poland, life was very different for Bob.
“When I was three years old, they need[ed] some kids for [a] movie… and I got it,” he said. “So I was in the first movie and they really loved me, and from that time I was playing [in] movies every year… I was playing [in movies] from three years old to 29, and then I leave my country.”
What could possibly make someone give up a successful acting career and move to a foreign country?
“My wife,” explained Bob. “Myself, I probably never leave my country… I just loved her so much, so I said, ‘okay, whatever.’ I gave up everything.”
“But I’m happy now. I’m here with the students—18 years now—and I really love this place.”
The hot dog business isn’t always easy though, especially in the summer months when most of the students are gone. Once September comes along, business starts to pick up again, and even lasts into the winter season.
To pass the time in between sales, Bob says that he cleans his stand and plays music on his guitar. “Just killing the time, but enjoying the moment,” Bob says. Lately, he mostly plays original music. “I was six when I started playing. But I never [took] any lessons.”
Another impediment to business is, sadly, student vandalism.
According to Bob, earlier this summer, some of the nighttime custodial staff who were cleaning Rozanski Hall saw a group of vandals smash the windows of his shack. Police were called and the University’s Physical Resources team agreed to replace the broken window.
“It doesn’t happen often,” said Bob, explaining that the last incident happened ten years ago when his whole shack was destroyed.
Despite incidents like these, Bob’s cheerful and friendly attitude towards students is unwavering.
“I [am] never in bad mood: when I am, when I feel like I am starting to be disappointed or whatever, and I take a look at all the pictures [on the walls of my stand], and then I have to be happy. Everybody’s smiling.”
“I always say that, I always will: I love you all, guys. I love you all, and I am here for you, and I believe, as God agree[s] with me, I be here end of my life. Just because you’re so cute. I love you all so much.”