The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
SECRET TO SUCCESS IS IN THE SAUCE
Burger sauce led to traveling food operation
The Carhop’s Diner Dogs journey began with only burger sauce, says Gina Giallombardo, who is now co-owner of the operation alongside her friend, Annette Restifo.
“I used to own the Highlander Tavern in Highland Heights a long time ago. That’s how we met,” Giallombardo said.
“I was tinkering around with stuff for burgers and I came up with what is now Carhop’s Burger Sauce. I sold all kinds of burgers with that on there.”
When she sold the tavern, she put her sauce on the shelf and didn’t do anything with it until 2011.
“Finally, we dragged it out and we started tinkering with it, and we tweaked it up a little bit,” Giallombardo said. “It’s sugar free, gluten free, no carbs, corn syrup, MSG — none of that depending on what mayonnaise you use.
“We’ve met so many awesome people and we’ve been able to give back to them.” — Gina Giallombardo, co-owner of Carhop’s Diner Dogs
“Next thing you know, there’s a big demand for it and we were like, ‘Wow.’ A lot of people compared it to classic ‘50s sauce.”
Giallombardo said she and Restifo then found themselves at craft shows and other events where the sauce would “sell out, sell out, sell out.”
“Then people said, ‘Well, you have the burger sauce. Where’s the burgers,’” she said.
“We looked into it and we started getting little events, and wham, the next thing you know, we’re doing huge fairs and festivals with burgers, hot dogs, the sauce, everything.”
Carhop’s Diner Dogs covers most of Lake and Cuyahoga counties, as well as Geauga County, Giallombardo said, and they carry three sauce flavors — the original Carhop’s Burger Sauce, a spicy version called Nitro and Smokehouse Sandwich Spread, which Giallombardo describes as “bacon in a jar.”
The people Giallombardo and Restifo meet are the best part about the business, Giallombardo said, and the camaraderie that follows.
“We’ve met so many awesome people and we’ve been able to give back to them,” Giallombardo said. “I’m at Home Depot every day in Euclid and we do just a hot dog stand, but then on the weekends we do it here at YesterTech. They do all kinds of restoration on classic cars and things like that. It’s a lot of fun.”
When the coronavirus hit, everything was re-vamped, Giallombardo said. Small business support is still a priority, she said, as well as having affordable prices.
“It is about the community and taking care of everybody here,” Restifo said. “And I think with the pandemic, that only had us relook at how we do things and I think it came to our advantage.”
Carhop’s Diner Dogs can be followed on Facebook and Instagram.
“We always post where we are and what we’re doing,” Giallombardo said. “We do parties, events, lunches, office lunches. It’s food and family.”