Seth Callagy Opens His Own Hot Dog Cart in Indianapolis With Help From a SCORE Mentor

SECOND SHIFT · FROM THE FIELD

Indianapolis, Indiana · Food service · Small-business mentoring and startup loan

Original reporting: Tyler Fenwick, Mirror Indy · September 25, 2026

Seth Callagy, 24, has been to the CSL Plasma center on East Washington Street countless times over the last few years, trying to make ends meet. On Sept. 24 he pulled into the same Irvington parking lot with a hot dog cart on his trailer hitch. It was the official opening day of his business, On The Bun, Mirror Indy reports.

“I’ve always wanted to own my own business,” Callagy told the newsroom.

Callagy spent about 10 years in food service and works as an Amazon driver four days a week. His mentor, Jim Thompson of the business coaching organization SCORE Indiana, said Callagy arrived with a 75-page business plan. Of the roughly 50 aspiring entrepreneurs Thompson said he has worked with over the last year: “None as prepared as Seth.”

The cart and payment system cost about $7,000. With Thompson’s help, Callagy got a $15,000 small business loan and put in $4,000 of his own money, according to the report.

On The Bun now operates Thursdays outside CSL Plasma and Friday and Saturday evenings at Necropolis Underground Haunted Attraction. Callagy told Mirror Indy he would like to add a food truck someday, and maybe a brick-and-mortar shop.

Callagy’s cart is a side business alongside his driving job, but it shows how little it can take to turn a paycheck-to-paycheck worker into a business owner: a prepared founder, a free mentor and a modest loan. Communities that pair small-business coaching with access to small-dollar credit are building a low-cost on-ramp to entrepreneurship.

Read the original reporting at Mirror Indy →

Second Shift tells the stories of people building what’s next through new skills, new careers and second chances. From the Field items are curated from credited reporting, with Location Decision’s perspective. Location Decision Originals are independently reported by our team.

Curated by Location Decision. Originally reported by Tyler Fenwick, Mirror Indy, September 25, 2026.

This item was sourced and drafted with AI assistance and reviewed under Location Decision’s editorial standards. Second Shift tracks workforce outcomes to inform our broader editorial analysis. All reporting belongs to the credited journalists; read the original story for the full account.