GOSHEN -- Technically, Douglas and Jacqueline Murray are making lemonade because of a sour situation, but it's from their new --- and therefore Goshen's new -- hot dog cart.

Douglas got laid off from his job in corporate sales with Bob Evans Farm in April. After he learned of the news in February, the Murrays put together a list of job options where he could work for himself. The list included landscaping and "things you already see a lot of."

He and his wife have been married just shy of 10 years and have five children. She's been a stay-at-home mom for eight years. He needed to do something.

Also on their list was a hot dog cart, like you see along major city streets, but not on the streets of Goshen or Elkhart.

They couldn't quite get away from the idea.

So they researched where to get carts, what hot dogs to use and what kind of chili and bacon to put on them. The last one was easy. Bob Evans has chili and bacon and Murray knew from working for the corporation how to use those products that grocery stores and restaurants have.

"The more we researched it, the more we thought it would work," he said.

Getting permits to sell food and park the cart took a while. Their first big event was June 5 at First Friday, Goshen's monthly downtown festival. They'd sold a few hot dogs around the area in the week prior, but that night they sold all 300 hot dogs they'd brought with them.

They returned to First Fridays and wooed potential customers with the smell of grilled onions and bacon-wrapped hot dogs. They sold a lot, and in the process, learned to like Goshen and its people. They live on the edge of Mishawaka and Osceola, but after getting proper permission, started bringing their cart to Goshen on weekdays to park at the corner of Main and Lincoln to serve lunch.

They're calling their business The Wiener Circle. They sell sodas, chips and hot dogs with a variety of toppings. The lemonade comes as lemon shake-ups, made with ice, lemons and sugar. And they're happy. The two of them are selling 600 to 700 hot dogs a week, depending on the events they work in addition to being in Goshen for lunches.

"Yeah, it's working," he said, noting he can wear a hot dog hat on his head if he wants to. "My stress level is about zero, unlike before."

He's happier and the cart is paying their bills, he said. Sales are increasing and their business is exceeding their expectations.

Winter is coming and although they plan to take January and February off from street vending, they plan to sell as many hot dogs as they can before the weather's too cold.

Doug and Jacqueline Murray are operating a hot dog cart in downtown Goshen, a city of about 30,000 people, and it's working out just fine.

"It's been working out really well," he said.