She Left Tech to Sell Hot Dogs — Now She Grosses $2K Per Day

Amelia Eudailey used to log off Zoom calls to attend strategy meetings. These days, she logs off to prep shrimp salad, mash potatoes, and slice sourdough buns — all for a hot dog.

Not just any hot dog, though.

Amelia is the founder of Chef Hej Hej, a Swedish hot dog pop-up based in San Francisco.

What started as a weekend experiment — squeezed in between her tech job and a part-time restaurant shift — has grown into a full-time food business that now grosses up to $2,000 per event.

Her menu is inspired by a street food dish she first tried in Sweden, but it’s got a distinct Bay Area twist: local sourdough buns, premium seafood, and a nostalgic-but-playful vibe that’s helped Chef Hej Hej stand out in a city crowded with food creatives.

“I didn’t go to culinary school,” she said. “I just kept following the things that brought me joy — and somehow it led here.”

From Tech Job to Tunnbrödsrulle

Before Amelia was slinging $10 hot dogs in the Bay Area, she was navigating a career that spanned scientific research, event management, and healthcare product marketing — eventually landing a role at Zoom.

But even as she climbed the corporate ladder, something didn’t click.

“I kept going back to the joy I felt sharing Swedish food and traditions with my friends and family,” she said. Born in the U.S. but raised with strong ties to her Swedish roots, Amelia made regular trips overseas growing up. The food stuck with her — especially the celebratory dishes: shrimp salad, pickled things, soft bread wraps, and seasonal sweets.

After moving to San Francisco in 2020, she became enamored with the local food scene. Instead of enrolling in culinary school, she applied for a weekend line cook position at Octavia, one of the city’s most acclaimed restaurants. There, she learned how to work the line, handle volume, and prep like a pro.

Six months later, she spotted an Instagram post from a neighborhood bodega looking for food vendors.

She replied. Picked a date. Created a menu. And just like that, Chef Hej Hej was born.

Originally, it was a broader “Swede-ish” concept — meatball breakfast burritos, seasonal baked goods, and inventive open-faced sandwiches. But one dish quickly stole the show: Amelia’s take on tunnbrödsrulle, a Swedish street food wrap traditionally filled with a hot dog, mashed potatoes, shrimp salad, and pickles.

“I decided to build it into a bun instead of a wrap,” she said. “It made the ingredients pop more visually, and it felt more approachable. Plus, I live in the sourdough capital of the world — I wanted to tie that in.”

She started sourcing her buns from Rize Up, a Black-owned San Francisco bakery known for its vibrant, naturally leavened loaves. The result: a dish that was equal parts comfort food and cultural love letter.

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The Pop-Up That Started It All

Amelia’s first pop-up was ambitious. Maybe too ambitious.

She was still working full-time in tech and picking up shifts at the restaurant on weekends — all while trying to prep for her first Hej Hej service. She created a full menu with multiple hot dogs, a Swedish meatball sub, two desserts, and sourced everything herself from local vendors.

“I wish I could say I tested all the recipes in advance,” she said, laughing. “But I was just trying to get everything ready in time.”

Despite the scramble, the turnout was massive — thanks in part to friends and co-workers who came out to support. She grossed $1,540 that day, with roughly $575 in food costs, $225 in labor, and around $500 in one-time gear purchases: coolers, serving utensils, bus bins, propane, packaging, and more. After everything, she cleared about $240 in profit.

That didn’t include the hours of unpaid labor she put in. Or the chaos that followed.

“I was so tired at the end of the day that I accidentally put a pot of hot dog water in the back of my car,” she said. “Then I drove up a hill in San Francisco and heard it crash. The water went everywhere. I pulled over and the hot dogs literally rolled down the street.”

It was exhausting. It was messy. And she couldn’t wait to do it again.

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Finding Her Flow

While Amelia’s debut event pulled in strong sales, the months that followed were more unpredictable.

“After that first pop-up, I had a few where I barely made $800,” she said. Without a permanent residency, she rotated between wine bars, restaurants, and neighborhood spots across San Francisco — each with its own audience, vibe, and unknowns.

Still, the experimentation paid off.

Instead of chasing variety on the menu, Amelia narrowed her focus to one standout item: her Swedish hot dog. She added a few smart upsells — like bags of imported Swedish candy and branded Chef Hej Hej merch — and finally turned tipping on through her Square app. Together, those changes pushed her typical gross revenue to $1,600–$2,000 per event, with around 65% of that translating to take-home income.

“The candy was such a low-effort add-on,” she said. “And tipping felt weird at first, but it’s made a huge difference.”

Streamlining also helped behind the scenes. Fewer menu items meant less prep and less waste. She could focus on perfecting her core ingredients and spend more time sourcing from her favorite vendors: sourdough buns from Rize Up, shrimp from a local fishmonger, produce from the farmers market.

But even with tighter operations, the logistics were demanding. As a mobile pop-up without a brick-and-mortar, Amelia doesn’t get the perks of restaurant-scale ordering. There’s no bulk discount, no scheduled deliveries. Every pop-up means days of driving from supplier to supplier, loading bins, and prepping ingredients.

Then there’s labor — her biggest ongoing expense.

“I’ve only been profitable because of all the friends who’ve helped for free,” she said. “If you’re reading this, you know who you are — I owe you the most.”

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The Day It Got Real

Six months into running Chef Hej Hej, Amelia got the kind of break most food entrepreneurs dream about: a feature in Eater SF.

At the time, she had a small weekday residency in the Outer Sunset, serving hot dogs on Wednesday afternoons. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was consistent — enough for a local editor to take notice. The article went live in March 2024.

“The response was overwhelming,” Amelia said. “That day I sold 125 hot dogs in two hours.”

She remembers it clearly. She was still working her tech job at Zoom, finishing up a virtual meeting from the pop-up location. As soon as she signed off, she swapped her laptop for latex gloves and got to work slicing buns, prepping shrimp salad, and scooping mashed potatoes.

She’d hired her friend — photographer Angela Decenzo — to shoot the event, and when she looked around, it hit her: a line out the door, friends running the booth, pro photos being snapped. Something had shifted.

That was the day she realized this wasn’t just a fun side gig. It could actually work.

But she also knew the numbers had to make sense.

At the time, she was grossing about $2,500 a month from pop-ups and private chef gigs — taking home around $1,600. Not enough to replace a San Francisco tech salary. So she built a plan.

She made a Google Sheet titled “Leave My Job”. It tracked her income targets, savings runway, personal expenses, and exactly how long she’d need to stay in tech to vest her remaining stock options. She also explored ways to bridge the gap — booking more private chef work, teaching cooking classes, and cutting personal costs.

By October 2024, she was ready. She left her job at Zoom and gave herself a 12-month window to prove that Chef Hej Hej could carry its weight.

“It wasn’t a leap of faith,” she said. “It was a calculated jump. I knew my numbers, I had a plan, and I gave myself the time.”

Seven months later, that plan is starting to pay off. She’s cut her cost of living by 40%, grown her income month over month, and still has savings left in the bank.

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What She Got Right — and What She’d Rethink

Some of Amelia’s best early decisions had nothing to do with food.

Instead of trying to DIY her brand, she invested in a $700 brand kit and an $800 website. “Everyone told me to save the money and do it myself,” she said. “But I knew I needed a clear voice and a visual identity — and it’s made everything easier.”

That decision gave Chef Hej Hej a cohesive look from day one — from menu boards to merch to Instagram assets. It also helped her stand out in a crowded pop-up scene, where design and storytelling matter just as much as what’s on the plate.

What she’d do differently? Focus on social media sooner.

“I didn’t realize how important it was to just show the food,” she said. “People don’t want to guess what you sell — they want to see it.”

After dozens of events, Amelia’s learned what makes a food pop-up actually work — both creatively and financially. Her best advice?

What’s Next for Chef Hej Hej

Now that Chef Hej Hej is officially her full-time gig, Amelia’s focused on expanding — not just with more events, but with more storytelling.

Her 2025 plans include:

• Traveling for pop-ups across the country
• Taking on more private chef work and brand collaborations
• Growing her presence on social media
• And launching a Substack to document the behind-the-scenes journey

“I want to share Swedish-style hot dogs with as many people as I can,” she said. “But I also want people to understand the story — where it comes from, why it matters, and how much love goes into every part of it.”

While a brick-and-mortar isn’t off the table, Amelia’s more interested in starting a business that feels sustainable — both financially and emotionally. That means flexibility, creativity, and continuing to center joy in every part of the process.

She’s still slicing buns and prepping potatoes by hand. Still driving across the city to gather ingredients. Still surrounded by friends who pitch in, photograph, and cheer her on.

And she wouldn’t have it any other way.

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