The Guys Behind the Nuts
Steam billows out from the quintessential cart, dispersing into the New York City air, where the aroma of Nuts4Nuts is, perhaps, the only pleasant smell. Honey-roasted nuts came to New York City in the 1980s from Argentina, where they are known as mani garripanada. They can further trace their roots back to the 1920s when the French brought honey-roasted pralines to Argentina. The now New York City staple comes in peanuts, almonds, cashews and, if you are lucky enough, coconuts and pecans. The carts’ signature copper bowls enable an even and rapid distribution of heat, coaxing the sugar and honey to envelop the nut with a crunchy, sweet exterior.
For the average New Yorker, honey-roasted nuts are as much a staple as the dirty water dog or a pizza slice; they are just there, they always have been and hopefully always will be. Few people wonder about the faces behind the nuts.
Nuts4Nuts has deep roots in the Bronx. Many of the vendors that customers interact with when buying the snack are Bronx natives. Company co-owner Cliff Stanton was born and raised in Kingsbridge, the same neighborhood where his father was born. He attended the Bronx High School of Science and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. To this day, he lives in Kingsbridge just a block from where he grew up, with his wife and three children—and if my name doesn’t give it away, I’m one of the three.
Cliff started his career in mobile food vending in 1987. At the time, the city was relatively lenient with mobile food permits, allowing Cliff’s frozen lemonade business, Frozade, to thrive. That is, until 1995, when Mayor Rudy Giuliani signed a law that stripped corporations of their mobile food vending permits. “Any corporation that held permits was now only allowed to have one permit. So I went from 46 to one overnight,” explains Cliff. This crippled his small business.
In 1989, Alejandro Rad was a visiting student from Mendoza, Argentina. He attended the American Spanish Institute during the week and sold nuts on the weekends. “In Argentina, it’s a culture to have these honey-roasted nuts when you are a child,” says Alejandro. After making New York his permanent home, he established his own business, NutsAboutNuts. He began with one pushcart and grew steadily.
In the months after Giuliani’s devastating blow, Cliff and Alex formed a partnership. The two entrepreneurs combined their businesses and the few permits they had left to form United Snacks. Cliff incorporated and changed the company name to Nuts4Nuts. Since the new law didn’t apply to park permits, they focused their energy on Central Park. Frozade would sell in the summer and Nuts4Nuts would sell in the winter. This clever pairing of products allowed for their business to thrive all year round. While their business slowly grew, their competitor, M&T, was still far more established.
One day in the shower, where all good ideas are born, Cliff realized that he needed to shift the business model from retail to wholesale. Once instituted, this shift started to level the playing field between United Snacks and M&T. “It created a very motivated sales force,” he says. “Instead of my salesmen working for me, now they are working for themselves.” In fact, some M&T vendors switched to Nuts4Nuts. Over time, United Snacks replaced M&T as the largest vending operation in Central Park. Today, the company supplies nearly 100 pushcarts throughout New York City.
Two years ago, Cliff and Alex began talking about a retail store for their snacks. Their warehouse in Hell’s Kitchen had an underutilized frontage on 46th Street. The pair opened Street Fare, selling “authentic New York City street food,” says Cliff. The shop, located between the Intrepid and Times Square, features Argentinian empanadas made by Elisabeth Birkenhagen. Elie, born in Buenos Aires, attended culinary school and currently lives in the Bronx. The flavorful empanadas are coated in a sheen of egg, making the outer crust flaky and golden brown.
In true Nuts4Nuts fashion, the ever-evolving business is now working on expanding its internet presence with an online store, now offering honey-roasted nuts to all 50 states—allowing out-of-towners suffering from Nuts4Nuts withdrawal a way to feed their craving. The success of the online business has been a challenge to keep up with; a tech-savvy marketing intern could go a long way, Cliff mentions. Additionally, they are working on packaging that will allow the delicious snack to be sold at grocery stores around the city and nationwide.
After nearly three decades of providing honey-roasted joy, Nuts4Nuts has become an integral part of the city’s gastronomic history—as iconic as the pretzel and dirty water dog. One could thank the borough of the Bronx for being the home of the Nuts4Nuts family, and Manhattan for being the home of the product. Much like the city itself, Nuts4Nuts has encountered setbacks, but with innovation, dedication, and nuts, it is stronger than ever before.
