I've since forgotten what the proprietors name is, having neglected to write it down, though I did remember a few details from our conversation. He came to the U.S. from Chile ten years ago, and lives a few blocks west from where he sets up his cart here at 53rd and Broadway, south of the Ed Sullivan Theater, this evening catching everyone waiting on line for the Late Show With David Letterman. He's been working the cart in this spot for seven years, from 10 am to 11 pm everyday; sometimes he set up across the street on the east side of Broadway if the foot traffic is better over there. He tells me that he takes home about 70-80 dollars a day, 100 on a good day. I'm not sure if he was referring to his gross take or his profit and am unaware what his expenses might be, if he rents the cart, pays a fee of his take to someone else, how much the peanuts cost, etc...so I'm inclined to believe those numbers, if accurate, were referring to his profit after any and all expenses, as in the ten minutes I stood there conversing with him, he sold a half dozen or more bags of peanuts at two dollars each; if indicative of his business, that's about 70 dollars every hour.
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