Superdawg coming to Wheeling

http://www.beepcentral.com/story.aspx?story=17864

Looks like they are finally going to let them build.

I had heard years ago that Superdawg owned property between Le Francais and Bob Chinn's. Wouldn't it be a hoot to see two anthropomorphic hot dogs with their glowing, blinking eyes standing between those two establishments!

Buddy

I live 3 minutes away...I'm just going to buy some XXXXL pants now.... Maybe if I walked there and back

Anyone know what the plans are for the Le Francais property now that it's closed?

I read that article and they mentioned that the Wheeling location is actually the third location!

Superdawg also has a location in Midway Airport. I didn't know that.

Original Location

Superdawg Drive-In
6363 N Milwaukee Ave
Corner of Milwaukee, Nagle and Devon
(773) 763-0660

Wiki entry

New location

Superdawg Drive-In
333 S. Milwaukee Ave
Wheeling
Open around Labor Day 2008

Asking my friend Google he supplied me with another address...

Superdawg Drive-In
3344 N Kimball Ave
Chicago
(773) 478-7800

What is that all about?

That Kimball address is just a warehouse/office. It's across the street from Chicago Food Corp.

There used to be a big Superdawg mural painted on the side of the Kimball Avenue warehouse which I would see as I got off at the Kimball exit from the northbound I-94 lanes. I used to think there was a Superdawg location there. I searched the entire area like an opium fiend looking for his next fix to no avail. I finally figured out what kafein has stated, the building is just a warehouse space for them with no actual food service facilities.

Buddy

First reaction: ooh!
Second reaction: eh!

Why? Dog Walk, at Palwaukee Plaza, offers a vienna dog with all the fixins and fries (albeit not those stellar crinkle fries, and no green tomatoes) with a drink for about half of the equivalent of SuperDawg ($3 for the special, vs $5.79 for a SuperDawg and small drink).

Is it really worth an extra $2.79? On rare occasions, probably.

Buddy---

I believe that what you saw at the Kimball Street exit off the Kennedy was the Superdawg supply warehouse.

That's where they keep the franks, malted drink mix and replacement eyeballs for Mr. & Mrs. 'Dawg'.

jnm123 wrote:... and replacement eyeballs for Mr. & Mrs. 'Dawg'.

Of course you mean Maurie and Flaurie.

You know what I see happening? Superdawg 'lite' in Wheeling. The quality will suffer, and the prices will go up. Hope not, but I work up in that area now, and your standard grease joints get away with murder compared to what I'm used to. And people still frequent these places. Must be nice to be rich.

We used to drive past the original every Friday night on our way into the city (Albany Park) from the burbs for dinner with my grandmother. I'm talking 35+ years ago, and for some reason, we always ALWAYS called them Gumby and Pokey. No idea why but here I am in my mid 40s and I still think of Gumby and Pokey every time I see Superdawg.

seebee wrote:You know what I see happening? Superdawg 'lite' in Wheeling. The quality will suffer, and the prices will go up. Hope not, but I work up in that area now, and your standard grease joints get away with murder compared to what I'm used to. And people still frequent these places. Must be nice to be rich.

Hey, as long as the quality doesn't dip at the original.

seebee wrote:You know what I see happening? Superdawg 'lite' in Wheeling. The quality will suffer, and the prices will go up. Hope not, but I work up in that area now, and your standard grease joints get away with murder compared to what I'm used to. And people still frequent these places. Must be nice to be rich.

C'mon! Think positively! (from the 'do as I say, not as I do' department).

In all honesty, I too am concerned that Superdawg 2 will be a lower-grade replica of the original. This is a lovable, distinctive place that's going to be very hard to duplicate. And even if the food in Wheeling is identical in quality, a visit to the Spawn of Superdawg may still not be nearly as satisfying as a visit to the original location. And ultimately, it's conceivable that a lousy second location could actually drag the original down with it.

I pretty much feel that in Chicago, the gap between the best hotdog stand and the worst hotdog stand is relatively small and that it manifests in the little details. Most places start with 1 of 2 brands of dogs, indentical buns, etc. On that basis, it's not a stretch to imagine that Son of Superdawg might end up being a hollow shell of the original. They could do everything right and still fail. There are a lot of chips on the table.

OTOH, these guys have been in business for a long time and appear to be quite successful. They serve a quality product and seem to have a knack for keeping customers happy. Certainly, they deserve the benefit of the doubt, at least for now. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

=R=

From the article at Beep:

The plan also proposes one concession to modernity lacking in the current location — a drive-through. Berman said the drive-through would stack seven cars wrapping around the building and hidden from view. “We don’t want to look at the cars stacking up, you don’t want to look at them stacking up,” he said.

Can someone define "stack" for me? If this means a line of cars 7 deep, I don't think they have planned for the draw of this place. Most of the Portillo's in the suburbs can have 10-15 cars in line at their drive-thru at lunch. With their proposed location, I imagine lunch time will be very busy due to the major road and proximity of many corporate offices.

Kim

The Power of Positive Dawg Thinking...

The Midway Airport location actually produces a high-quality product, and they can do it there, Wheeling should be a slam-dunk.

Can't remember if they do a Whoopskiburger tho--don't think there's a grill there. But when I'm waiting for a flight out and am in the B Concourse (or is it A?), a box o'Superdawg comes in mighty handy.

I would not, however, recommend bringing one on the plane. That indefinable Superdawg smell---an aroma of wiener, fried potatoes, onion, mustard and a little brine from the green tomato---would probably be grounds for being thrown off the plane.

jnm123 wrote: But when I'm waiting for a flight out and am in the B Concourse (or is it A?), a box o'Superdawg comes in mighty handy.

IIRC, it is near gate B14.

jnm123 wrote:I would not, however, recommend bringing one on the plane. That indefinable Superdawg smell---an aroma of wiener, fried potatoes, onion, mustard and a little brine from the green tomato---would probably be grounds for being thrown off the plane.

I had the same realization on Monday night at Washington National, when I contemplated taking dinner with me on the shuttle flight to Boston. Five Guys was in the gate area, but there was a line and I would have had to take it on the plane with me. That just seemed cruel to my fellow passengers, so I did without.

Superdawg on Milwaukee Avenue is the only existing north side drive in with the "Ordermatic" calling system and carhops. In the 50's, mom and dad would take us there before a night of movies at the Sunset Drive In Theater. Pajamas were optional. As a middle schooler, we'd bike there after a summer swim at Whelan Pool. Superdawg was all about hot dogs and fries with a pickled green tomato, squished into a cool little box, served by Maurie and Flourie. In high school, it was about cruising or taking a date to Superdawg on a warm Saturday night. It was great to cruise by at night, when those monster dogs, framed in neon, could bee seen winking electronically. As an adult, it was a place I could take my kids, sit back, relax and pretend it was 1955 in southern California. Today, there's more competition with better dogs at lower prices. There's only one original Superdawg and memories are forever.