Three weeks ago, 15-year-old twins Chaze and Chazz Clemons didn’t know how to cook anything besides an egg sandwich.
“I didn’t know how to use a knife or anything like that,” Chazz said.
Now, the brothers run their own business, Glizzy Street, selling hundreds of bacon-wrapped hot dogs every day outside their family’s American Oil gas station on Long Beach Boulevard north of the 91 Freeway.
“It’s definitely been a crazy experience so far,” Chazz said, “… I didn’t think anybody would show up.”
Their signature food is simple but made with care. Each $5 dog can be topped with ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, barbecue sauce (which is made with a special recipe and love, according to Chazz), and grilled onions and peppers. A cup of lemonade or punch is $4.
The brothers say they opened Glizzy Street because they wanted to do something different this summer. Instead of going on trips or going to amusement parks, they decided to follow their older brother’s suggestion and start feeding hungry customers.
“We wanted to get out of the house, and we always wanted to start our own business, and we thought this summer was a perfect opportunity to do it,” Chazz said.
They named the business after an internet slang term for a hot dog. And after perfecting their technique (“I was terrible at first,” Chazz said about making their signature sauce), they opened up on June 25 and continued to learn along the way. They were soon shocked at their success.
The first day, they sold 20 hot dogs. Now, they sell over 200 every day.
“I never thought I would be able to cook in front of so many people,” Chazz said.
The crowds are thanks to the fact that Glizzy Street has gone viral over the past couple of weeks, gaining 160,000 followers on Instagram and 61,100 on TikTok. Their first Instagram video was liked or shared over 370,000 times.
“Social media is definitely the key factor to everything,” Chazz said.
With their business gaining so much popularity so quickly, the boys needed to buy a second cart after a week.
The long lines mean some people have started arriving 30 minutes before they open, and others have waited upwards of an hour to get their hot dogs. Keeping up with the demand becomes their biggest challenge, especially when they get large orders.
“So efficiency and speed is one of the main factors, but we’re trying to cook everything thoroughly and make sure everything’s good for customers, so it might take a little while. People wait hours for a hot dog and still stay, and they love it,” Chazz said.
Chaze and Chazz said they’ve received nothing but positive feedback and that some customers rate them a “1,000 out of 10.”
While the brothers are running their business, their entire family is supporting them behind the scenes. Their older siblings help them prepare for the day, take payments, pour drinks, and keep all of their supplies in stock throughout the four hours Glizzy Street is open.
“Being able to run it with our family is like a major part of why we love it, and we like seeing the community. We also love the community. The community we built is really supportive and really positive,” Chaze said.
The twins are excited about what the future may hold for Glizzy Street.
“I see it as something big. We have big plans coming up very soon,” Chazz said.
The boys hope to expand their business to other locations and get exclusive partnerships with local sports stadiums to sell their bacon-wrapped hot dogs at games. They’re also working on doing a giveaway in the coming weeks to celebrate their one-month anniversary and how far they’ve already come.
Glizzy Street is open from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 6850 Long Beach Blvd. Follow them on Instagram here.