Bradenton Hot Dog Restaurant Embraces Cryptocurrency As Payment

BRADENTON, FL — A Bradenton hot dog restaurant is now accepting cryptocurrency, offering diners another method of payment.

And in February, anyone who pays for their meal at Willy-Yums using Dogecoin will get half off their purchase, owner Rob Williams said.

He opened Willy-Yums at 2003 14th Street in Bradenton about five years ago, serving hot dogs from around the country, burgers, pressed Cuban sandwiches and other items.

Two years ago, he learned about cryptocurrency through a friend and began investing through the Robinhood app.

“I thought, ‘Oh, ok, I’ll put in a couple of dollars here and there, and forget about it,’ and that’s what I did,” Williams said.

In early 2021, he checked out his portfolio on Robinhood for the first time in about five months.

“It was outrageously high. I was extremely surprised,” he said. “I thought, ‘This is interesting.’ And I bought a few more.”

He was especially drawn to Dogecoin, which has a Shiba Inu dog as its symbol. The low-cost coin is trading at about 15 cents each as of Wednesday morning.

“They call it the people’s coin,” Williams said. “It’s inexpensive. It’s easy to get. It’s easy to share. It’s simple. It’s got a really cool mascot dog.”

It wasn’t long before he wondered if he should accept Dogecoin at his business.

“I mean, I’m a hot dog stand. Hot dog. Dogecoin. Right?” he said.

He began accepting the digital currency as payment about nine months ago. There hasn’t been a huge clamor to pay with Dogecoin, just a few customers a month, but he hopes this number increases.

Williams makes it easy for diners to pay using their cryptocurrency. He has a QR code displayed in his window. When they place their order, all customers have to do is scan that QR code for their cryptocurrency wallet to pop up.

Even with customers who don’t use cryptocurrency, it’s a conversation starter, he added. “They ask what’s going on with it. ‘Tell me more about it.’ And I tell them that it’s cool, that it’s unique, that it’s something everybody could afford and the way of the future possibly.”

While other cities have embraced cryptocurrency, including Miami, it’s not as common in the Bradenton area right now. But Williams expects its popularity to grow and more people to use it for daily purchases.

“I was reading today that Elon Musk is pushing for McDonald’s to use Dogecoin,” he said, “but I got there first.”