When students need to grab a quick lunch between classes, the hot dog carts around campus are well known for offering an affordable meal and a friendly face.

Umar Mohmed, owner of Zou Doggs, located outside of the Agricultural Science Building, started selling hot dogs about a year ago.

He said his love for cooking is what inspired him to open the cart.

“The idea just came up to me because I have always loved cooking food, and so one day I just decided to open up the hot dog stand,” Mohmed said. “I wasn’t going to lose a lot of money going into it, so I just decided to open one up and see where it goes.”

Mohmed’s average workday is about eight hours long, from around 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“I love it,” Mohmed said. “The reason I love it is because I get to meet new people, new faces and a new way of understanding what other people like. You have to converse with your customers and understand what they want. That’s what I like. It’s more fun when you get to do that.”

Aside from students, Mohmed said he is frequently visited by MU alumni and even campus police.

“They come by, and I really enjoy that,” Mohmed said. “With past students, I just see it as something to remember. They see the umbrella then as they come down the road they say, ‘Oh yeah, I remember I used to eat those when I was at Mizzou.’ You know, just bring back the memories.”

Mohmed said he enjoys his cart being on campus more than anywhere else.

The owner of Just Jeff’s, which is located outside Memorial Union, is Jeff Spencer. Like Mohmed, Spencer said his favorite thing about his job is connecting with students.

“The students, how they care about me being here and how I care about them meeting me, it’s just awesome,” Spencer said.

Spencer said that while he is occasionally assisted by family, he is the sole operator of the cart. His dream is to open a restaurant with similar style food.

“I want to retire in a restaurant,” Spencer said. “I don’t want to travel or anything like that. I just want to stay here with family.”

Even when he does open up a restaurant, Spencer said he plans on keeping his cart business going.

Spencer said he is amazed by the amount of support he has received from students. He said many students walk up to the cart and give him tips without even purchasing a meal.

Spencer said hot dog carts can carry a bad reputation because they can buy cheap ingredients. But over the past year, the cart has built up a wide support base. Spencer said he has a 73 percent returning customer rate.

The main thing Spencer says he’s taken away from working the stand is trust. He’s given people credit because they didn’t have enough money to pay for their hot dog, and he said he has never had anybody not repay him.

Just Jeff’s opened in December of 2013, and Spencer said the business is still a learning experience.

“I’ve never worked in a restaurant in my entire life,” Spencer said. “This is just all it is. I’m learning. I’m literally learning the restaurant business from right here — from inventory management to customer service skills to the cooking part of it. I learn it every single day doing that.”