MANCHESTER, NH – Take a guy that knows everybody by name. Add a cashier with the colorful name Flower who keeps everything moving swiftly and efficiently and set your food cart up in sight of the historic Mill Girl Statute on Commercial Street and that’s where you will find Dube Dogs Tuesdays through Fridays.
Marc Dube is the guy that just wants to feed people and make them smile and he does that really well. Add to that the annual celebration of this American Cuisine and a bank that keeps things local and you end up with a lot of food and good cheer in the Millyard. July 21st was National Hot Dog Day and the entrepreneurial folks at Primary Bank were there supporting local business and paying for the hot dogs. I found out about it when Linked In algorithms served up a full screen poster from my friend Joe Bator, Executive Vice President and Senior Lender at Primary Bank.
Communicast is my focus on good people doing great things and when you drill down beneath the fun of a free hot dog you discover a whole lot more to the story. I know Joe from our time supporting the entrepreneurial business community in Cambridge and Boston Massachusetts. He is good people. Neither of us commute daily to Boston anymore.
Primary Bank, like the Manchester Ink Link, is locally focused right here and, like the Ink Link, is big on elevating the community. While they are a business-focused commercial bank, their people work and live and volunteer locally. Keeping it local enriches the community. As we emerge from the brunt of Covid related economic pain, the entrepreneurial and creative types bring a fresh look to how business can be conducted.
Invest in Community
With a philosophy of reinvesting in community, Primary Bank CEO, Bill Stone and his team are choosing to directly boost the local businesses around us. They’ve given out coffee and done similar surprises at an ice cream shop. Memorable moments in marketing and fun but with a real purpose that encourages that “pay it forward” principle.
Medium and small businesses like Dube Dogs N More are the backbone of New Hampshire’s economy. The Small Business Administration says more than 90% of companies here in New Hampshire and better than half our workforce are in the small business category.
One of Marc’s many regular customers is Ken Whitten. Turns out that is Reverend Kenneth Whitten, President and director of Vision International Missions, based right in the Millyard. While Marc professes no strong religious attachment, he did go on a mission to Haiti once with Whitten and what he saw changed or perhaps reinforced the importance to him of feeding people. Marc Dube shares some of his earnings helping to provide for a school in Haiti. Kids are key to the future and nobody does well on an empty stomach.
Study Hard, Stay in School
You can be a Hot Dog Man
And then in one of those, you can’t make this up moments, a parade of young kids walk down the stairs in front of the Mill Girl Statute. They laugh and interact with him in what is clearly a friendly and regular encounter. He calls out his mantra “ Study Hard, Stay in School and…”
And they gleefully reply, one day “You can be a Hot Dog Man.”
This is philosophy and fun mixed in with really hard work. The regulars who show up at Dube Dogs N More sing Marc’s praises and he always has a smile and a comment as he serves up their meal. Only on Fridays can you can get a serving of the famous Jambalaya Dog. Show up it’s fun and expect a short wait. The place is popular and on good days – totally sells out. Wednesday was a good day.
