By Olivia Scheck
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Hungry art enthusiasts will soon have more than just hot dogs to choose from outside of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Department of Parks and Recreation has signed a deal with a high-end cupcake company that will allow them to set up shop outside of the Upper East Side museum beginning in June, the New York Times reported.
Cake & Shake has signed a five-year deal that's expected to generate a total of $659,350 in revenue for the city. The cupcake company will pay a first-year fee of $108,000, with 10 percent increases in each of the next four years.
The space outside the museum has been been a lucrative and highly-contested spot for hot dog vendors because of the large amount of tourists and a scarcity of dining options in the area. The competition for space and customers came to a head last summer with the city has cracked down on llegal hotdog vendors in the area with arrests and fines.
Only one hotdog cart run by war veteran Dan Rossi remains, according to the Times. Cake & Shake seems unfazed by the acrimonious history of the location.
“I don’t think there will be animosity with the hot dog vendors, because we’re offering a different product,” Cake & Shake co-owner, Gina Ojile, told the Times. “It was somewhat embarrassing for the parks department to offer only hot dogs and water.”
Cake & Shake, which is based in Long Island City, charges $3 for their organic cupcakes, made with real fruit and served in biodegradable, compostable packaging, according to their Web site.
The cupcake cart's lights will be powered by solar panels and will also have a low noise generator powered by biodiesel fuel, a Cake & Shake representative said.
Among Cake & Shake's tasty offerings, conceived by former a Bouley Bakery chef, is the "Rich Guy," a "Mandarin cupcake with fig mousse and candied walnut cream cheese frosting," according to the New York Post.
