FITCHBURG — The small, unassuming eatery on Summer Street has changed hands several times over the years, but the name, the sight of families and friends, and the sound of butterfly-cut hot dogs sizzling atop the grill has always been the same.
Now, the familiar sight has returned to George’s Hot Dog Stand, which officially reopened Aug. 31.
While the building at the corner of Summer and St. Bernard streets has been something of a local landmark for the past 70 years, the site has been vacant for several months. But the restaurant’s new co-owners, Jessica Smith and Ryan Marshall, saw an opportunity to restore the stand to its former glory.
“It’s been our dream to open a food truck or a small food stand for a very long time,” Smith said. “We’ve received a lot of support from the community and they’ve been dying for it to reopen.”
With relaunching the stand, the couple wanted to focus on maintaining “the old, hometown feeling” of the restaurant, Smith said, while also putting their own twist on some things.
“We want the stand to be the place you can come, grab some dogs, eat outside, and have a good time with your friends and family,” she said. “Especially right now, with the pandemic, I think it’s really good that people can come here and share that time together.”
The menu features a lot more than just frankfurters now. The pair also sells items such as frappes, homemade chips and fries, sandwiches, corn dogs and burgers.
Customers can still get George’s Original hot dog for $2.99, or they can experiment with one of the new options like the Fat Dog or the Kraut Dog.
Smith, who grew up in Fitchburg, says her favorite hot dog on the menu is the Mac-N-Bacon dog, which tops a hot dog with bacon and mac and cheese. And Marshall prefers the Thai Dog, which has peanut sauce and pickled red onions.
While the stand has gone through multiple owners over the decades, it’s a familiar sight to everyone in the city, Smith said, and people have been rushing back to the food stop.
“In the last two weeks, we’ve run out of food,” Smith said. “We weren’t expecting so much of a response. It’s been great.”
The pair have been working toward the opening for months, completing major renovations to the building’s interior while retaining its signature white exterior — and of course the iconic Polar ginger ale sign.
“This is a great opportunity,” Marshall said. “This is something (Smith) grew up on and we’re hoping it’s something we can share with the next generation.”
Though the coronavirus pandemic put the plans on hold for a period of time, Smith is just excited for the restaurant to be open.
“It was really tough at the beginning but the last two week have been incredible,” she said.
Marshall said the restaurant will be open six days a week, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays.
While the pair anticipate a challenging road ahead, with the pandemic still ongoing, they hope to continue the legacy of George’s Hot Dog Stand.
“This is a staple of Fitchburg,” Smith said. “Our goal is to make the restaurant as good as it can be, and continue to provide people with good memories.”
The Link LonkSeptember 15, 2020 at 05:09PM
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Iconic Fitchburg hot dog stand reopens under new ownership - Sentinel & Enterprise
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