Vendors

Vendors are businesses of selling prepared food and drinks, usually seen on mobile carts, which allow the player to replenish their health to varying degrees. They appeared in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto IV and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars.

GTA San Andreas

Vendors in GTA San Andreas are generally grouped into four forms, three of which are depicted in the form of stalls (including a chilli dogs stand, a Cherry Poppers ice cream stand, and a Noodle Exchange noodle stand), while one (a hot dog business) is based in a drivable van. Most are situated in tourist sites in the state of San Andreas, such as landmarks, special events (i.e. stadiums), or in the countryside/desert regions. Vendors may also be spotted by a red halo where the player must stand on to purchase food.

Like vending machines, vendors are not marked on the map as restaurants do; they refill roughly 50% of the player's base health when used, keeps the player full for three days before they go hungry again, and costs $1 per use. In addition, the player is not able to repurchase another item from the same vendor unless the player moves away from the vendor at a minimal distance and return or until after a period of 30 seconds.

A "Chilli Dogs" stall in Santa Maria Beach, Los Santos. A "Noodle Exchange" noodle stall in Hashbury, San Fierro. A Cherry Poppers ice cream stall in The Strip, Las Venturas. A van-based hotdog vendor near Sherman Dam in Bone County.

GTA IV

Vendors are located throughout the city, selling hamburgers, hot dogs (Chihuahua Hotdogs), and nuts (The Nut House) which can be purchased to replenish the player's health. There are also newspaper stands which sell Sprunk soda. Each food item purchased from a street vendor is $5, while beverages purchased at news stands are $1. Hamburger stands have a small gas tank on the side of the cart that if shot or rammed with a vehicle, will explode. Hotdog vendors have these too, but are inside a small opening in the cart.

The vendors themselves are typically random in appearance, but are categorized into three groups. The first group, usually found all around the city and Happiness Island, consists of jolly old and slightly beefy Caucasians who are kind and thank you for your business. The second group, common in Algonquin and Alderney, are slim individuals with Middle Eastern accents who are similarly well-mannered. The third group, also in Algonquin and Alderney consist of people of oriental heritage that utter both English and Cantonese, and are usually rude, mean and always demand money. These differences has no effect on the sale of the product.

A hot dog vendor (variant 1) in Rotterdam Hill, Broker. A hot dog vendor (variant 2) in Middle Park, Algonquin. A hamburger vendor in The Exchange, Algonquin. A nuts vendor in Middle Park, Algonquin. A newspaper stand (variant 1) in Star Junction, Algonquin. A newspaper stand (variant 2) in Leftwood, Alderney.

Locations

Hot dog and newspaper vendors are most prominent in Star Junction, being on nearly every corner. Nut vendors can be found most frequently in Middle Park, while hamburger vendors are few and far between. A street vendor will make their presence known by shouting various sales pitches.

GTA Chinatown Wars

In Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, hotdog vendors and nut vendors appear throughout Liberty City. The player can pay $5 for a hotdog or $3 for a bag of nuts to have half of their health replenished. If the player rams a vendor stand with a car or shoots it then it will create a very weak explosion that is nearly incapable of destroying anything. However, if a police car rams into it during a police chase, then they will be imminently knocked out.

A hot dog vendor. A nuts vendor.

See also

• Street vendors at Wikipedia.
• Vending machines