The Chain Gang

Hot Dog on a Stick Attempting New Things on Sticks

Santa Monica's walk-through location
Santa Monica’s walk-through location Photo: MartinVarsavsky via Flickr

Hot Dog on a Stick… Ah, the memories. Just one glimpse of those dorky striped uniforms and kaleidoscopic dunce caps whisks us back to the crusty old version of Santa Monica Place, pitying the poor teenage summer jobbers who had to wear them as we pined for lemonade squeezed on the spot. This Southern California icon is currently testing a new concept in a neighborhood in Salt Lake City, Utah, with the run of the corn dog chain’s first drive-thru location. Nation’s Restaurant News reports that the pint-sized, parking lot food stand is so far very successful, matching its handheld foods to about 300 to 400 cars per day, numbers the outfit has been hoping for. But that’s not all the chain is attempting to reignite its growth.

Hot Dog on a Stick is also testing a new menu that builds on the easy-to-handle dishes with the introduction of French toast sticks, hash browns, beef dogs on a stick, and batter-fried sausage on a stick with dippable syrup, which sounds totally disgusting and thus, will be really popular with fast food addicts far and wide.

The new drive-thru stand and menu are an attempt for the iconic SoCal stand, which recently began a franchising program, to get out of the mall and into more visible locations with heavier foot traffic. Included in its major offensive (if wieners on sticks don’t already fit that bill), Hot Dog on a Stick will spread to Dubai before the end of the year and will also open a stand-alone, 24-hour presence in Las Vegas’s Excalibur hotel starting next month.

Hot Dog on a Stick opens first drive-thru [NRN]

Earlier: Four Performance-Ready Picnics Packed To-Go [GS]

Hot Dog on a Stick Attempting New Things on Sticks