These 15-Year-Old Twins Opened a Viral Hot Dog Stand at a Gas Station in Long Beach | Eater LA

"A family-run hot dog stand run by 15-year-old twin brothers Chazz and Chaze Clemons sets up nightly outside the American Oil Gas Station on Long Beach Boulevard; the twins are the ninth and tenth of 10 siblings and are supported by older brother Jay and the rest of the Clemons family (on the night of the visit, older sister Blanche poured plastic cups of strawberry agua fresca, punch or blue raspberry Kool-Aid while brother Dajahn replenished supplies). They sell bacon-wrapped hot dogs—affectionately called "glizzies" in slang—topped with grilled onions, bell peppers and jalapeños, and offered with a choice of mustard, mayonnaise, or barbecue sauce; the hot dogs are $5, and the stand operates every night from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. (and was open through the Fourth of July weekend). A heavy-set, bearded customer named Joseph, who requested to not use his full name, waited an hour for four generously dressed hot dogs and said, "I'll probably eat the first one in my car," and "They're that good. But I'll do anything to support these kids." The twins split duties—"Chazz handles the glizzies while Chaze grills the vegetables"—and built the business over summer break after saving $400 working at the gas station, keeping a required 3.85 GPA, developing a budget, learning about profits and losses, planning a menu, learning to cook, and securing a hot dog cart. After announcing the launch via social media on June 25 the video went viral (over 213,000 likes on TikTok); they sold 20 dogs on day one and, as of July 1, prepare about 150 per night, typically selling out, with some repeat customers driving from Sacramento, San Diego, and the Inland Empire. Chazz explains the origin: "My older brother asked what we wanted to do this summer and gave us some suggestions like Six Flags or amusement parks. We wanted to be outside the house and start a business. When [Jay] was a kid, he wanted to do a hot dog business. We used social media to post a video, and then it went viral." On the twins' early learning curve, Chaze says, "The first day was really busy. I don't think I was good at cooking on the first day, but I got a lot better." The family had already added food to the station two years earlier—selling gumbo, peach cobbler and chicken from inside the gas station—and their father, Bryan Clemons, has a long history in the oil business beginning in 1975 (first as an oil blender for Lubricating Specialties Company, later a fuel delivery driver for ARCO, then acquiring his first truck and trailer and eventually two gas stations in Los Angeles County). For context on branding, the twins chose the business name by trying to "think of something with three syllables that was funny, something very catchy, and wanted to do something that goes with LA on a busy street." - Mona Holmes