Not that it's gonna happen at Hot Doug's...

...but I remember maybe three years ago Fondue Stube (on Peterson near California) announced that they were closing 'soon'. The ensuing weekends were packed, and suddenly...Fondue Stube wasn't closing anymore! Kinda soured me on the place from then on.

I actually think the 'long goodbye' thing is a good strategy, as long as Doug holds to it. Whatever he's doing as his next act, from now through the summer & early fall he can gauge to a T what the public wants. Wonder if it's going to be a smaller version of the Paulina Meat Market?

jnm123 wrote:Not that it's gonna happen at Hot Doug's...

...but I remember maybe three years ago Fondue Stube (on Peterson near California) announced that they were closing 'soon'. The ensuing weekends were packed, and suddenly...Fondue Stube wasn't closing anymore! Kinda soured me on the place from then on.

I actually think the 'long goodbye' thing is a good strategy, as long as Doug holds to it. Whatever he's doing as his next act, from now through the summer & early fall he can gauge to a T what the public wants. Wonder if it's going to be a smaller version of the Paulina Meat Market?

As I understand it, Doug doesn't really want to own a restaurant anymore. My guess is that he'll find a home, somewhere, as a chef. Doug does have a culinary school background and with his explosive successes as an owner/chef of Hot Dougs, some well able restaurateur around the city would be willing to give him a chance at running a joint.

Past performance doesn't indicate future success, however, with a guy like Doug, the bet is in his favor should he choose to run a kitchen somewhere.

sundevilpeg wrote:Doug Sohn is a mensch.

Banner quote material, because it's so true. Like so many others I'm going to miss HD's but I'm very happy for Doug to have done this on his own terms. He could have turned up the knob on the revenue stream on this 9 ways from Sunday - longer hours, limiting interactions with customers, franchising, etc. - but stuck to what HE wanted to do and along the way he did it while making many other folks happy. Who could ask for more?

I had no idea how far into the mainstream Doug's influence reached but I saw an amusing reference to Hot Doug's yesterday on Sports Talk Live on Comcast . . .


Screenshot from May 6, 2014

I suspect that around here, the results would have probably been quite the opposite.

=R=

The "long goodbye" seems linked largely to the lease being up in October. I wouldn't read too much into it otherwise, just a good, practical, logical stop-date.

Vitesse,

I figured it was likely something like that.

My point was, am I happier knowing now, or would I rather have found out Sept 1.

HI,

Doug Sohn will be on Chicago Tonight this evening on WTTW.

Yep, I am sure the lease was a reminder. Since these run five or 10 years for a commercial establishment, I'll bet there was this mirror-in-the-morning discussion, "Where do I want to be in 10 years? Nah, let's pull the plug now."

He didn't do what I hoped he would never do: Close, then advising later they will never reopen.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

Doug Sohn will be on Chicago Tonight this evening on WTTW.

Yep, I am sure the lease was a reminder. Since these run five or 10 years for a commercial establishment, I'll bet there was this mirror-in-the-morning discussion, "Where do I want to be in 10 years? Nah, let's pull the plug now."

He didn't do what I hoped he would never do: Close, then advising later they will never reopen.

It looks like video isn't embeddable, but you can watch it here:
http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/video

Nice Chicago Tonight clip. If I were the creator of Check, Please, or any Food Network show, I'd be beating Doug's door down to get him in a development deal of some sort. He's an absolute natural.

I suggest this link: http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2014/05/ ... superstore

I've been trying to get to Doug's ever since the announcement was made, but with two little kids who are NOT going to wait in line, it's been impossible. Today I had the bright idea of going right as the doors open at 10:30, which has worked well in the past - but per Doug's Facebook page, at 9 there were already people in line. I'm depressed. I may never have another one of his sausages.

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:I've been trying to get to Doug's ever since the announcement was made, but with two little kids who are NOT going to wait in line, it's been impossible. Today I had the bright idea of going right as the doors open at 10:30, which has worked well in the past - but per Doug's Facebook page, at 9 there were already people in line. I'm depressed. I may never have another one of his sausages.

Going when the doors open on a Friday only works on Fridays with bad weather in the winter...before the announcement. I have a friend there now who says the line was past the building (house?) on the other side of the alley before doors even opened. He got there at 10 and he started at the back of Doug's building.

I think I may have had my last duck fat fry from Doug months ago and not even known it. Weekdays only from here on out.

Yeah, there is always a bump when the weather finally gets nice and also when school is out, but with the closing announcement, it's probably worse than ever. Here's a very scientific analysis done by someone:

My friend actually made that! Very excited to see it made it to LTH!

I visited on Monday. Got there around 11:20 and made my order at about 12:30. Worth the wait. (Of course.)

So long, Doug.

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:I've been trying to get to Doug's ever since the announcement was made, but with two little kids who are NOT going to wait in line, it's been impossible. Today I had the bright idea of going right as the doors open at 10:30, which has worked well in the past - but per Doug's Facebook page, at 9 there were already people in line. I'm depressed. I may never have another one of his sausages.

Fridays and Saturdays are probably the worst days to choose. Friday of a Holiday weekend even more so. One of my friends made his maiden voyage there today and at 9:36 reported that there were 16 people in line ahead of him. Tuesdays always worked pretty well for me, just avoid the prime lunch hours. Either first thing in the morning or my usual routine of around 2:30 usually works out.

I arrived Tuesday at 11 (without having seen the graphic shown above), and got served my sausages at 11:55.

FINALLY made it to Hot Doug's today. Following the above advice, arrived a little after 11 and had our dogs by 11:50; not a bad wait at all, and a beautiful day for it.

The foie gras dog was one of the best things I've ever eaten...wow...just, wow...

Vitesse98 wrote:The "long goodbye" seems linked largely to the lease being up in October. I wouldn't read too much into it otherwise, just a good, practical, logical stop-date.

Interesting. For whatever reason, I was under the impression Doug wanted to close Hot Doug's due to the fact he felt ready to move on from operating it, and that it didn't have to do with the lease terms of his space being up. I guess it's a combination of both these factors, of why he's choosing to close?

You're missing the point. He's on the hook for rent until October, so he might as well be open until the lease is up. He's not closing because the lease is running out, he's staying open until the lease runs out.

Buddy

Additionally, I'm pretty sure I read (and it completely makes sense) that the lease renewal was a motivating factor for closing--as in, I don't think I want to be locked into doing this 5 years from now.

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:You're missing the point. He's on the hook for rent until October, so he might as well be open until the lease is up. He's not closing because the lease is running out, he's staying open until the lease runs out.

Buddy

This happens to be true.

It is interesting how often a lease renewal motivates people to think hard about their future.

Regards,

Photos taken yesterday at Noon




The man deservedly has a loyal following.

Doug Sohn on the Hot Doug's Lines and How to Get in Before Closing Day

A father and son get to the front of the line, an older son in his 20's, and they order and the father looks a little dazed.
I ask, "for here or to-go?"
And the father goes, "oh, we'll have it here."
And the son says, "we have to go."
And the father says, "oh, what time is it?"
I look up and say, "it's 5:00."
He's like, "oh, yeah, we have to go. We have dinner reservations at 5:30."
And I was like, "where?"
"Alinea."

And I just died laughing. I was like, "here's what we're going to do. One, I'm going to throw in an extra one for Grant (Achatz). But my advice is, don't eat this but when you get there, give it to them or your server. Tell them I said they need to plate this, preferably on the end of a pin. They'll think it's funny.".

Pretty much sums up how awesome of a food town Chicago is.

ReddiWhipSmart wrote:Doug Sohn on the Hot Doug's Lines and How to Get in Before Closing Day

A father and son get to the front of the line, an older son in his 20's, and they order and the father looks a little dazed.
I ask, "for here or to-go?"
And the father goes, "oh, we'll have it here."
And the son says, "we have to go."
And the father says, "oh, what time is it?"
I look up and say, "it's 5:00."
He's like, "oh, yeah, we have to go. We have dinner reservations at 5:30."
And I was like, "where?"
"Alinea."

And I just died laughing. I was like, "here's what we're going to do. One, I'm going to throw in an extra one for Grant (Achatz). But my advice is, don't eat this but when you get there, give it to them or your server. Tell them I said they need to plate this, preferably on the end of a pin. They'll think it's funny.".

Pretty much sums up how awesome of a food town Chicago is.

"Grant Achatz ‏@Gachatz · 55m
@scottedelman @Alinea happened! About a month ago. I ate it instead of serving it on a "pin""

10:30am...leave for Hot Doug's
11am...arrive at Hot Doug's
1pm...order from Doug
1:30pm...leave Hot Doug's
2pm...arrive home
31/2 hours total
Worth It.
The best of what I had was the Pheasant sausage
with rhubarb mustard, goat cheese and truffled radishes.

SueF and I made out first, and sadly probably last voyage to the Encased Meat Emporium today.

My main recommendation: if you go on one of the remaining Fridays or Saturdays, bring a lunch, cuz you're going to be there a long time. Five hours from arrival to being seated at a table, after arriving just after 11AM.

What a wizard with the specials: my favorite was the Lamb and Pork Belly, with brie and tomato marmalade. Not very lamb-y, tasted like a sophisticated polish.

The Über Garlic was also awesome, somewhat brat-like, topped with garlic confit.

The Shrimp and grits was also very good, made with smoked shrimp and pork belly, but i don't know that the goat cheese belonged.

The Butcher and Larder special tasted a bit too much of truffle oil, but was otherwise delicious with chicharones.

I should have pictures to insert later.

driving on California yesterday (Saturday) evening around 7, there were still about 10 people in line and the lights were on; presumably Doug was staying open to serve everyone. Is "official" closing time 4?

I'm not certain, but it appears that the line is capped at, but they serve every person still in line at that time. We didn't place an order until about 4:15, and there was still a line to the back of the building when we left a half hour later, with an employee enforcing its endpoint.

His Facebook post from Friday:

A very happy Duck Fat Friday to you & yours! A note & heads-up: While we totally understand there are only a few days left to enjoy a Hot Doug's sausage and be "entertained" by the Scotch-fueled cashier, we have an obligation to respect the neighbors and neighborhood. Therefore, Hot Doug's may have to stop customers from entering the line before 4:00pm. We're going to play this one by ear. We thank you for your understanding.

The line on 9/20 was reported to have been closed before 11:30a.

This prevented a recurrence of what happened the previous Saturday when Doug served the last order after 9p.

--
edc