Don’t stick a fork in this 80-year-old Southern California institution.
Hot Dog on a Stick — the beloved chain famous for its hand-stomped lemonade, corn dogs and colorful striped uniforms in mall food courts — is preparing for a major expansion after being snapped up by a Las Vegas company in an $8 million deal.
Las Vegas-based Amazing Brands said it acquired the cult-favorite franchise because it believes the time is right to introduce the California classic to more Americans, with plans to expand beyond its longtime mall locations and onto the Las Vegas Strip and other markets.
“While Hot Dog on a Stick has been predominantly a West Coast success story, we believe the time has come to bring it to the rest of America—and ultimately to the world,” Stephen Siegel, Amazing Brands founder, told QSR magazine.
Plans are in the works to not just revive the brand but take it to the “next chapter,” which includes a possible flagship on the Vegas strip, drive-thrus, eateries in amusement parks, and more.
“From stadiums, theme parks, entertainment districts, tourist destinations, and premier retail locations to small-format freestanding restaurants and drive-thrus, Hot Dog on a Stick is uniquely positioned to bring its combination of nostalgia, fun, and craveable food to an entirely new generation of guests,” a statement on the company website read.
“We are honored to lead this iconic brand into its next chapter, preserving the traditions that generations of guests have loved while investing in its future growth.”
Siegel said the franchise has a long history of serving up memories and they have no plans to “reinvent the brand.”
“Our goal is to once again establish Hot Dog on a Stick as one of America’s most iconic restaurant brands while expanding its reach to customers around the globe.”
The first Hot Dog on a Stick stand opened on the Santa Monica Pier in 1946, when founder Dave Barham launched the business under the name Party Puffs. But after he “perfected” the Hot Dog on a Stick, he renamed the eatery — and the new name stuck.
Over the following decades, the chain exploded across the West, opening more than 100 locations in shopping malls where employees wore the iconic “Red, White and Blue with a Splash of Lemonade” uniforms.
But as America’s indoor malls lost their grip on shoppers, the chain’s fortunes faded, too. Today, just 44 locations remain in business.
Siegel called the move personal, noting that his wife, at one point, worked at the Los Angeles county Montebello Town center as a manager of the eatery in the 1990s.
“I grew up loving Hot Dog on a Stick,” Siegel said in a statement to the magazine. “It is one of those brands people remember with real emotion and nostalgia.”
Plans are also in the works to expand the brand with packaged iconic signature items for grocery and retail too, the report noted.
