# Why no nationwide hot dog chains? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [February 11, 2022, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nationwide-hot-dog-chains/959259 "2022-02-11T01:32:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nationwide-hot-dog-chains/959259/121 "2022-02-16T01:34:26Z")
Even kids with chicken pox… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ojkDHMyxL6E/hqdefault.jpg "VINTAGE 1967 ARMOUR HOT DOGS COMMERCIAL") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojkDHMyxL6E) 300K hot dogs per hour from this place: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/2NzUm7UEEIY/maxresdefault.jpg "How It's Made - Hot Dogs") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NzUm7UEEIY) ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nationwide-hot-dog-chains/959259/122 "2022-02-16T04:53:39Z")
Look - no one wants to know or see the details of any ground-meat-inna-casing production. Ever. Even the hand-made, charcuterie style has too many slip-ups to be reassuring. We all know the issues, but we don’t want to be reminded of it. Or many other food production issues that we want to but cannot avoid without growing and processing it all ourselves. That being said, I did enjoy my brief forays into home-sausage making. It was amazing . . . but too much damn work, even with a KitchenAid meat grinder and sausage stuffer attachment. It suffers even more from the cost to value issues mentioned above. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nationwide-hot-dog-chains/959259/124 "2022-02-16T14:16:25Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > I’ve read that the worst thing to order in a restaurant (i.e. the most overpriced thing) is pancakes. Yet we have IHOP etc. > [@Chefguy](#): > > I have to laugh at the “all you can eat” pancake deals. All I can eat of those frisbee-sized things is about three, tops. I’d get them occasionally if I could be assured of real butter and real maple syrup anywhere in America outside of upper New England. But I also can’t eat more than 3. I guess I could if I had unlimited real butter and real maple syrup and I had walked more than a dozen miles the previous day and hadn’t eaten a whole lot afterward. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nationwide-hot-dog-chains/959259/125 "2022-02-16T14:32:16Z")
Since I’ve started making cornmeal pancakes, regular pancakes are dead to me. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nationwide-hot-dog-chains/959259/126 "2022-02-16T14:48:21Z")
Buyer Beware: I went into one of those pancake joints and ordered the _All You Can Eat Pancakes for 5 Bucks_ special. I polished off the stack of 3 pancakes, then asked the waitress for another stack. She pointed at my plate and said, _“sorry, but that’s all you can eat, for 5 bucks.”_😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nationwide-hot-dog-chains/959259/127 "2022-02-16T15:59:08Z")
Are they gluten free, as in 100% cornmeal? Or is there some regular wheat flour mixed in? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nationwide-hot-dog-chains/959259/128 "2022-02-16T17:02:57Z")
Cornmeal and regular flour, sugar (optional), baking power, baking soda, buttermilk and a shot of vanilla. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nationwide-hot-dog-chains/959259/129 "2022-02-16T17:03:56Z")
I heard that joke decades ago, but it was about orange juice. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nationwide-hot-dog-chains/959259/130 "2022-02-16T18:35:26Z")
I recall it from Mad Magazine about 100 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nationwide-hot-dog-chains/959259/131 "2022-02-16T19:10:43Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > That being said, I did enjoy my brief forays into home-sausage making. It was amazing . . . but too much damn work [Hijack]That exactly describes my brief foray into home brewing. It was fun, but it was too much work, especially the clean up, when I can get good craft beer at the store.[/Hijack] ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nationwide-hot-dog-chains/959259/132 "2022-02-16T19:53:21Z")
> [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](#): > > Later, my local “new mall” replaced that one with a Orange Julius/Dairy Queen but dropped all food products. So, that’s only place I really remember being “just a hot dog place” but curiously when I search info on Orange Julius there is no reference to the hot dogs at all. I don’t recall any other co-branding, Orange Julius was a hot dog stand with the Julius drinks. I can only remember eating hot dogs at Orange Julius. As I’ve mentioned before the Orange Julius in Westwood Village made their chili dogs with parmesan cheese, and I was _addicted_ to them. > [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > There use to be a drive-thru chain in Southern California called Pup ‘N’ Taco that sold hotdogs and hard tacos. You could buy a sackfull for a couple bucks. Dang. I completely forgot about them. I never ate there though. > [@fedman1](#): > > not a chain, but did you ever frequent “unique/quirky” shop called OkiDog in west LA? Well, they’re on Fairfax, so that’s pretty much the eastern most edge of “west LA.” I’ve heard of them – never eaten there. But it sounds like they have a version of the Kosher burrito, so maybe I can go there for my fix! ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nationwide-hot-dog-chains/959259/133 "2022-02-17T02:07:48Z")
As for the question, hot dog stands greatly limit the appeal of a full restaurant. Not too many foods are manageable in such a small space. Even Anthony Bourdain loved the “dirty water dogs”. Also, would the restaurant version be that much better than the dubious convenience store one? That said, Montreal had a chain of steamed hot dogs served with onions and kraut on those weird single buns, popular in Quebec but not Ontario, that have a slit in the top. When I was a student they were two for a buck fifty. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nationwide-hot-dog-chains/959259/134 "2022-02-17T02:15:33Z")
Has anyone mentioned the Lucky Dog hotdog carts that roam Bourbon Street and the surrounding area? Are they even still a thing in New Orleans? The big carts are housed in a central location. Each evening the cart operators set up their carts and muscle them to their location. IME cart operators are often struggling to overcome addiction/jail/poverty/etc. The dogs are long, toppings many, price moderate. They are delicious if you’re drunk. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nationwide-hot-dog-chains/959259/135 "2022-02-17T02:55:29Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > > > Random memory—remember this? > > We got one when they first came out in the '70s. Yes, it worked, though it easily became gross if one wasn’t scrupulous about cleaning it. We had one when I was a kid. I loved using it, but the cooked wieners had an odd electrical taste. Yeah, I know, electricity isn’t a flavor, but that’s the only way I can describe it. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nationwide-hot-dog-chains/959259/136 "2022-02-17T03:55:15Z")
I’ve never seen hot dog carts up here in the PNW, but there’s usually a number of food trucks lined up outside the stadium on game day, most of which are selling hot dogs. That’s how I found out that there’s such a thing as Seattle-style hot dogs, which come topped with spicy mustard, grilled onions, hot peppers, and cream cheese dispensed out of something that looks like a caulking gun. The coolness of the cheese balances out the heat from the mustard and peppers quite nicely. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nationwide-hot-dog-chains/959259/137 "2022-02-17T17:10:55Z")
In Berlin, there were vendors roving around wearing hot dog stands. I was traveling with a group and our meals were planned and I regret not buying one of these dogs. It couldn’t have been worse that the currywurst I had later that day, blech. [Berlin, Germany 09/14/2010: A Walking Hot Dog Stand In Berlin. A Street Food Vendor Has A Makeshift Special Design Costume Which Includes A Hot Dog Tray, A Heater Unit And An Umbrella. Stock Photo, Picture And Royalty Free Image. Image 153711868.](https://www.123rf.com/photo_153711868_berlin-germany-09-14-2010-a-walking-hot-dog-stand-in-berlin-a-street-food-vendor-has-a-makeshift-spe.html) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nationwide-hot-dog-chains/959259/138 "2022-02-17T17:37:00Z")
In Manhattan, sidewalk hot dog stands are, or were, common (I haven’t been in the city in years). Many of these stands served Sabrett’s brand of hot dogs and Sabrett’s may have also supplied the stands themselves. And some of these stands can be quite lucrative. Not that long ago, the city parks department charged in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for the right to operate a hot dog stand at the base of the steps to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As I remember, the only restaurant in the museum is pretty expensive, so some museum visitors might prefer a cheap hot dog. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nationwide-hot-dog-chains/959259/139 "2022-02-17T18:01:40Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > ETA: TIL that Hot Dog On a Stick does NOT, in fact, have an outlet in every mall food court in the country. > > That’s a disappointing thing to learn. But they are an INTERNATIONAL chain! " There are also internationally franchised locations, in Korea and Shanghai, China" > **[Hot Dog on a Stick](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Dog_on_a_Stick)** > > Hot Dog on a Stick is a fast food company that was founded by Dave Barham in Santa Monica, California, in 1946, and later branched out into malls and shopping centers. In 2014, the company was purchased by Global Franchise Group (the strategic brand management company behind Great American Cookies, Marble Slab Creamery, and Pretzelmaker) based in Atlanta, GA. Under GFG, the brand has opened new locations across the country and moved into the franchising space. > The first Hot Dog on a Stick sto... ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nationwide-hot-dog-chains/959259/140 "2022-02-17T18:05:52Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > It couldn’t have been worse that the currywurst I had later that day, blech. While I have not tried one, currywurst seems like an odd thing and I have to wonder if they are popular outside of Germany. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nationwide-hot-dog-chains/959259/141 "2022-02-17T18:11:41Z")
Currywurst is awesome! I’ve seen them here in the States at various German-related events or restaurants, but that’s about it. I actually have a bottle of German curry ketchup in the fridge as I type this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nationwide-hot-dog-chains/959259.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nationwide-hot-dog-chains/959259.md?page=8)