Las Vegas-based Amazing Brands, founded by Stephen Siegel of the Siegel Group, has acquired what many consider a cultural touchstone: Hot Dog on a Stick. We’ve learned exclusively Siegel plans to bring Hot Dog on a Stick to downtown’s Plaza Hotel & Casino.
Siegel’s Amazing Brands acquired the once-ubiquitous throwback brand for a reported $8 million following the bankruptcy of its previous owner, FAT Brands. Siegel also operates Pinkbox, Bagelmania and Piero’s, under its Amazing Brands subsidiary. Siegel Group is a separate entity focusing on real estate, including apartments, extended-stay hotels, retail and office spaces.
So, why a potential “melee”? As we also reported exclusively, Five Guys Burgers will have a hot dog stand at Plaza. Let the glorious hot dog drama commence!
Hot Dog on a Stick is a mall-culture icon with roots dating back to 1946 on Santa Monica’s Muscle Beach.
At its peak, Hot Dog on a Stick had more than 100 U.S. locations, most in regional malls, but the decline of mall traffic, expensive leases and changing consumer habits took their toll. Here’s more history.
For Amazing Brands, the upside is obvious: Hot Dog on a Stick has name recognition, nostalgia and a visual identity most restaurant chains would kill for.
There are obvious challenges. Namely, nostalgia doesn’t always keep the lights on.
The brand packs an emotional punch, but it’s also undeniably cheesy: “Greeted by smiling Hotdoggers, customers can enjoy fresh, hand-stomped lemonade and made-to-order Hot Dog on a Stick and Cheese on a Stick products.”
Yes, the lemonade is “stomped.” We got into a long discussion with someone in the Siegel camp about the term “stomp.” She was a former stomper. “Stomping” means pressing down with the foot, heavily and repeatedly. Hot Dog on a Stick uses a mashing device. They mash. Or smush. If you want to get technical, they macerate. You can’t stomp with your hands. That’s not a thing.
We are trying to let it go, because they’re definitely going to keep calling it “stomping.”
While there aren’t as many locations as during its peak era, there are still around 50 in the U.S., one of which is at Boulevard Mall on Maryland Pkwy.
Hot Dog on a Stick is known for its bright striped uniforms.
We mostly have fond memories of Hot Dog on a Stick because when we were an adolescent, young women “stomping” lemons was as close as we got to having sex. There, we said it.
The hats were always like a cold shower, so there was balance.
We don’t recall ever having ordered a Hot Dog on a Stick hot dog, mostly because we are a traditional hot dog person, and Hot Dog on a Stick serves corn dogs.
Hot Dog on a Stick describes the hot dogs as dipped in their “top-secret party batter,” which sounds approximately 300% dirtier than it really is.
A new addition to the Hot Dog on a Stick menu since we last voluntarily visited a mall is Funnel Cake Sticks. Now, we’re getting somewhere.
Anyway, Stephen Siegel now owns a unique piece of Americana.
We can’t predict how the overall brand will do, but for some reason, Hot Dog on a Stick feels like a good fit at Plaza given the proximity of millions of drunk people on nearby Fremont Street.
Hot Dog on a Stick will share space with Plaza’s smoke-free casino area (next to the food court), not far from Pinkbox Doughnuts, Siegel’s surprisingly successful offering in the casino’s previous party pit. Successful is a bit of an understatement. We have gone to, or walked by, Pinkbox dozens of times and it is never without a line. Did we mention the millions of drunk people?
As for Five Guys, it opens soon in what was formerly Pop Up Pizza.
When it reopens, Pop Up Pizza will share space with Plaza’s Fresh Mexican Grill.
The Five Guys hot dog stand will sit in the hotel’s porte cochere, near the Carousel Bar.
We tried the Five Guys hot dog at another location recently, and it was meh. We look forward to trying our first Hot Dog on a Stick at Plaza.
Still not announced, but also planned for the Plaza food court is Big B’s Texas BBQ. Yes, that was an exclusive, too. Is there anything we can’t do?
While we wait for the Downtown Weiner Wars to begin, there’s American Coney Island at The D and Dirt Dog at Neonopolis. We also have a blurry memory of a fantastic hot dog at Wana Taco at Four Queens, but we no longer eat there three times a week because we no longer work at Fremont Street Experience. Downtown Grand still has a decent hot dog and beer deal (just $3), too. Downtown Grand uses Nathan’s Famous all-beef hot dogs, just as Hot Dog on a Stick does.
We’ve been on a roll with our exclusives, frankly, so we’ll share any updates on the Downtown Weiner Wars with relish.
Also, relish is disgusting. People are already pushing it with ketchup. Pickled cucumbers on hot dogs are like pineapple on pizza. These culinary blasphemies are less toppings than tortures from the time of Vlad the Impaler. And not in a good way.
Feel free to discuss as long as you agree with us.
