CHICAGO — In a city known for its love of both eating and
bragging about its hot dogs, this was news nobody relished: Gourmet
stand Hot Doug's, known for serving up options made of rattlesnake
and yak, is closing. And the owner of another local hot dog
institution, Portillo's, is thinking of selling.
Doug Sohn's announcement this week that he's closing his "sausage
superstore" in October after more than 13 years — saying only that
it was time to move on — triggered an outpouring of distress. And
taking inspiration from Green Bay, where fans own the Packers
football team, some Portillo's devotees have called on others to
band together to buy the chain of 38 restaurants, most in the
Chicago area.
"When I heard (Hot Doug's) was closing, it was heartbreaking," said
Lakhi Siap, 25, a community organizer whose place in line there put
him maybe an hour from ordering.
If it all seems a bit extreme, it makes sense in Chicago. The
city's love affair with hot dogs dates back to 1893, when visitors
to the World's Columbian Exposition gobbled up the odd-looking
sandwiches by the thousands, and industry experts say sales remain
steady. An estimated 200,000 are sold in the Chicago area a week,
according to Timothy O'Brien, co-president of Chicago-based Vienna
Beef.
"The hot dog is a symbol of Chicago," said Peter Alter, archivist
at the Chicago History Museum, which features a giant plastic bun
where kids can lie down like a frank and cover themselves in fake
relish, mustard, pickles and the rest of what gives a hot dog its
Chicago style.
The food is also a connection to the past of both the city and its
residents.
"My grandfather took my dad to Portillo's and my dad took me
there," said Eric Holtrop, a banker who supports what he and others
acknowledge is the longest of long shot efforts to buy the half
century-old business. "What if a bunch of Chicagoans pull
together?"
The owner of Portillo's has suggested he's considering selling to
capitalize on the brand's popularity.
Sohn's Hot Doug's, meanwhile, is important for another reason, said
Bruce Kraig, a historian, hot dog expert and co-author of "Man
Bites Dog: Hot Dog Culture in America."
"He was on the cutting edge of turning hot dogs into a kind of
cuisine, a kind of fine dining," said Kraig.
Even if Sohn didn't invent the upscale hot dog, he was in the room
when they started making them out of rattlesnake (Siap's favorite),
kale and walnut pork sausage (one of Wednesday's specials), and
foie gras (an ingredient that netted Sohn a $500 citation when he
flouted a city ban, since overturned, a few years back).
Hot Doug's reputation drew Jeff and Angie Bridges, the owners of a
San Antonio wine bar, to decide they had to stop there after seeing
it win praise on television by the likes of chef and author Anthony
Bourdain.
"We would have been devastated if we'd not come here before it
closed," said Angie Bridges.
Kraig contends that the lines outside Hot Doug's and the front-page
attention Sohn's announcement received say something else about the
city — "We can say, 'We do this better than New York,'" he
said.
Sohn prefers to talk about what he believes the reception to his
announcement illustrates — Chicago's undying loyalty to its beloved
fare.
"All the fancy stuff is nice, but in Chicago it's the hot dog," he
said. "That's why I opened."
In this May
7, 2014 photo, Doug Sohn, owner Hot Doug's, takes an order from
John Schmidt, a local tube steak aficionado at the gourmet hot dog
diner in Chicago. Sohn announced this week that he is closing the
doors of his "sausage superstore" in October after nearly 14 years
for no other reason than he felt like it was time to move on. In a
city long known for its love of hot dogs, this was news nobody
relished.
In this May
7, 2014 photo, customers enjoy lunch at Hot Doug's, a gourmet hot
dog diner in Chicago. This week, Hot Doug's owner, Doug Sohn
announced he is shutting the doors of his "sausage superstore" in
October. It has been a popular must-stop destination for both
locals and out-of-towners the past 14 years
