July 25, 2002
Formed out of necessity, entrepreneurship and independence, the "Snack Shack" is the place to be for pre-teens in the Burke Commons area.
A shady spot by the pool was enough for entrepreneurs Alex Gonzalez, Joey Gaskins and Imron Haider to practice capitalism on the local scale. The pool lacks a snack bar so the boys, who had reached the dog days of summer, needed a place to hang out with no strings attached. It was a money-making venture that occupied their time so their parents didn't mind.
Their wares included cookies, chips, oatmeal creme pies, gummy bears, Nutty Bars, LifeSavers, Pixie Sticks and camaraderie. Gaskins mom chipped in a few turkey sandwiches too, which were a hit among the lifeguard staff. Gaskins noted his mother's reaction.
"She thought it was crazy but after we made money she was happy," he said.
Alex, 11, liked the status their sandwiches gave them.
"Lifeguards come, they're like our friends," he said.
Alex talked about their assortment of snacks.
"We mix them up, it depends on how hot it is. The best is Saturdays," he said.
THE SALES CRAZE came over them when Alex and Imron set out in the Burke Commons neighborhood, knocking on doors.
"We thought of making our own business," Alex said.
Then they went to nearby Target store, stocked up on things their target audience — people that go to the pool on weekdays, mainly other pre-teens — would want and crowds started gathering. Making $25 a day was all right, especially when most of the working day is spent sitting in the shade, talking, and being away from the grasp of authority. There were a few pre-teen girls hanging out as well, jumping in the pool between rap sessions with the boys.
Holly Riggi, 14, customer favors Pixi Sticks.
"They're here everyday, they're very persuasive," she said.
Katherine Warren, 12, spent most of the time giggling.
"I'm here from like 12 to 8," she said.
Joey admitted he enjoyed the girls company. Sometimes it was slow between customers.
"She's really funny, she's nice too," he said.
Imron noticed a trend in sales.
"Everybody buys chips, mostly Doritos," he said.
Thus far, no one seemed to mind the Snack Shack, which sprung up next to the bike trail, within site of the Burke Commons pool.
"We clean up after we're done," Imron said.
THEIR PRESENCE did bring on the hard stare from the ice cream man, who looked on the competition with a frown. They all knew him from before, calling him by his first name. Joey knew what the frown meant.
"The ice cream man gets mad at us, he's really nice but [not] when you take his business," he said.
Thomas Bennett, 10, hung out for a while and acted as their agent at times.
"It's a really cool hang out spot. These guys could sell a book with no pages," he said, noting the clientele. "All the chill people, these guys are really good with their customers," he said.
On Tuesday, July 16, around 4 p.m., it was mutually decided that they had enough for that day. Although the profit margin was not available at the time, Alex held a wad of cash. They looked forward to the upcoming swim meet but they argued on what day it was. Summertime is easy and the days of the week were hard to distinguish.
"It's been a slow day today, we still made money," Alex said.