D.C. Food Vendors Fear War Of Hot Dogs vs. Hummus

That would be Gabe Klein, 37, an entrepreneur who helped take the Zipcar vehicle-sharing company from 20 cars to 450 in four years. Now his sights are set on vending.

Klein says he just wants a fair shot in an industry whose old model left little room for his idea: to sell gourmet and healthful, fresh foods from electric-powered carts.

Klein, who was raised in Yogaville, a commune in Virginia, calls his eco-vending business On the Fly.

To WG's owners, he is the "backpack" guy. Klein has a name for his rivals, too: "the hot dog kings." It is not a term of endearment.

In addition to two electric SmartKarts -- he wants to add six more -- Klein owns two SmartKafes, small stores that offer fresh food. The cafe at the Farragut North Metro station looks like a giant version of Klein's carts -- bright green, well-lit and funky. There wasn't a bag of Utz in sight. Soy Crisps, Soytato Chips, Latke Crisps, hummus, granola bars, pistachios, cupcakes from Buzz bakery in Alexandria and empanadas from Julie's Empanadas in the District were neatly arranged alongside fresh-cut flowers.

"The reality is that it's in someone's financial interest to keep things the same," Klein said.

The reality is, it's in someone's interest to change things, the WG brothers say.

At first, Klein and his partners wanted to open a gourmet pizza chain but chose vending. They met with Williams and others at the city's Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs and won some exceptions to the old rules.

Those exceptions, such as allowing him to park the motorized carts on sidewalks, will probably become law when the regulations are rewritten, Williams said. The exceptions, he said, were made for On the Fly because the company has its carts in a demonstration zone, a test to see how vending could look. But Klein got what WG sees as the biggest exception: He doesn't have to park his carts at a depot.

"Our carts are technically parked outside, but they are covered, so rodents don't come in. Basically, it qualifies," Klein said.

He said the WG brothers have fueled rumors of chain restaurants taking over the industry to manipulate vendors. All of the partnerships that On the Fly has formed have been with local businesses, Klein said.

The battle has trickled onto the streets.