The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Hot Dog Heaven reopens with food truck
Customers still looking for their Hot Dog Heaven fix can stop by a mobile food truck that has set up shop on the opposite end of Cleveland Avenue in Amherst.
The food truck, which is right behind Hastee Tastee, at 466 Cleveland Ave., will offer the same great food folks have come to expect from the Amherst staple that unfortunately caught fire, Aug. 31, said Chris Russo, owner of Hot Dog Heaven.
“Right now, we don’t have a definitive date for how long we will operate the food truck this year,” Russo said. “It will be dependent on the weather and customer demand.
“We’ll see how it goes. It will be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday, and we are working to add weekends. It is currently at Cedar Point on the weekend, but I’m working to get it out of there potentially as early as next week, but definitely when the park closes Nov. 1.”
Russo said the food truck will have the same items customers love from Hot Dog Heaven.
“We have the hot dogs, burgers and fries that folks love,” he said. “We have the menu that you’re used to.”
Mike Vincent, facilities manager for Hot Dog Heaven, said it will be a while before the new restaurant will be built.
“The insurance company is still in there, so we can’t even get to it yet,” Vincent said. “It’s definitely a tear down ... they condemned it.
“Now, it’s about planning and talking with an architect.”
Vincent said there will be many phases until a new Hot Dog Heaven is built.
“We still haven’t gotten to the demo phase,” he said. “There is still the working with the design board and zoning.
“A new restaurant will be built and it will be designed to look like an old home, so, similar to what was there. We also hope to expand the parking lot possibly and do all the things to make that happen.
“But, it will be some time next year with the goal being to build it back up as soon as possible.”