For many, the sausage becomes one of those essential foods that they turn to during the celebration of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnivals. It’s a satisfying tradition that few can resist.
The famous hot dog joint, known as Mister Smile, has been open since 1980, with two perfectly located branches in Plaza La Candelaria and on Calle Cruz Verde, n21. It is an “almost” obligatory stop during the Chicharrero Carnival season.
Mingo, a worker at Mister Smile, revealed in an interview for the program Good Morning Canary Islands on Atlantic Radio, hosted by Willy Garcia and Gara Garcia, confessed the approximate number of sausages that can be sold between both locations. He stated, “on a typical Carnival night, we can sell between 900 and 1,000 sausages, in addition to chicken sandwiches or hamburgers. The sausage is our tradition,” he added.
Meanwhile, the peak day for business is anticipated to be on Saturday, February 17, with the celebration of Carnival Day. Mingo stated, “we could sell up to 3,000 sausages between the two locations, as there is a much higher influx with the Carnival Day and the subsequent night, making tourist activity more noticeable.”
Regarding sandwiches, Mingo claims to have sold about “400 chicken sandwiches and 150 hamburgers in one day,” despite the competition.
The price for a sausage is set at €2.20, ensuring the carnival-goers are supplied with this satisfying food. Mister Smile takes charge of placing orders for the products “days before the Carnivals”, emphasizing that “it is always better to have more than enough”. The sausages come from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, as Mingo mentioned, “we have been using the same products since 1980, the same sausage we have always had,” which sets them apart.
In a rough estimation, Mister Smile would sell over 15,000 sausages during the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival celebrations on the streets. To accomplish this, they have a double staff on day and night shifts, totaling 14 people working in both establishments.
“These Carnivals have been different from the rest; they have not been as strong or as grand, as we also had a very good Christmas, and that has influenced them,” Mingo assesses that the 2024 Carnivals in Santa Cruz de Tenerife “have had different states, not bad, but not spectacular for the establishment.”
This Piñata Saturday is anticipated to be “real madness, big time,” becoming “the strongest day” of sales for this renowned establishment.
