MORTON — Susie Perdue never planned on life after hot dogs.
In 1987, she sold her first lunch at Susie’s Hot Dogs, the tiniest eatery in central Illinois. For three hours a day, Perdue’s cheery smile and cheap prices drew a loyal clientele that often would line up out the door. Even at age 74 and amid coronavirus challenges, she kept up a brisk clip at the counter and kitchen.
"She said she wasn’t going to retire," says son Dennis McKinney. "She said she was going to do it until she could do it no more."
And that’s exactly what happened.
On Aug. 31, after her usual three-hour shift, she suddenly didn’t feel good. Then she felt bad enough to go to a hospital. A few hours later, she died unexpectedly.
Since then, her food shack has been shuttered, leaving customers not only grieving but wondering if they’ll ever enjoy her chili dogs again.
"We’re going to try to keep it going," Dennis McKinney says.
Darlene "Susie" Perdue got her taste for hot dogs while working at a Velvet Freeze. She enjoyed the business and people.
"What a good job," she often told herself.
After 15 years there, she wondered if she might be able to make it on her own. Rather than try to do a decent job with a varied menu, she decided to do one thing really well: hot dogs. At home, she experimented with various ingredients and flavors for a one-of-a-kind chili-dog sauce that would keep customers coming back.
It's hard to exactly explain what makes a chili sauce good. Her recipe boasts a certain richness but not an overbearing spiciness with a consistency that is neither runny nor stiff, but just right.
"She came up with the recipe," says son Dearl McKinney. "And she stuck with it."
Next, she found her nook, at a former printing shop at 103 Bradley St. in Morton, a smallish structure not much bigger than a shed. Plus, tucked amid a residential area and hidden along a narrow street, the address sat off the beaten business path. Motor and foot traffic was scarce.
But Perdue figured if the dogs were good and the price was right, customers would find her. And they did.
They didn’t mind squeezing into the place, mostly for take-out. Aside from the service counter and cramped kitchen, the eatery offered a dining area of just two four-seat tables. The sparse decor sometimes might consist of a wall calendar.
But no one came for the ambiance. They came for hot dogs. Or maybe tacos. Those compose the core of the menu, spelled out on a wall board. Her offerings also included a couple of sandwiches, bagged chips, milk shakes, fountain drinks — and that's it.
From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday, Susie and a helper (they’d occasionally change over the years) would be in perpetual motion, tending to a line that often stretched to the sidewalk. Some patrons would pop by for one hot dog; sometimes, an area business (Caterpillar Inc., Morton Buildings) would call ahead and order a hundred.
Busy, busy, busy. And Perdue loved it.
"When you like what you do, you don’t mind going to work," she once said. "In fact, you look forward to it."
Perdue rarely missed work. Years back, she had been diagnosed with an aneurysm, a bulge in her aorta that could burst. But the ailment seemed at bay, causing her no slowdown or problems. She kept chugging along behind the counter and in the kitchen.
"She loved her customers," says son Dennis McKinney. "She just loved ’em."
Perdue especially enjoyed children. Her profit margin was tight. But she’d often stop at garage sales to find inexpensive trinkets.
"She liked to give those out to the kids," Dennis McKinney says.
All was well with Susie’s Hot Dogs through an uneventful lunch shift of Aug. 31. Afterward, though, Perdue complained to son Dennis McKinney about feeling poorly. As she continued to sag, he convinced her to go to a hospital.
After being admitted, she seemed to stabilize. As she lay in a hospital bed, Dennis McKinney kissed her on the forehead and excused himself momentarily.
"I went out to have a cigarette," he says. "I came back, and she’d had a cardiac arrest. I couldn’t believe it."
She died that day. Loved ones said farewell at a funeral Thursday.
Both of her sons say they want to get their mother’s business up and running soon. They will have to jump through a few licensing hoops. But they hope to have Susie’s Hot Dog stand going again within a month or so.
"It will be reopened," Dennis McKinney says. "She would want that."
PHIL LUCIANO is a Journal Star columnist. He can be reached at pluciano@pjstar.com, facebook.com/philluciano and (309) 686-3155. Follow him on Twitter.com/LucianoPhil.
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