Hot Dog on a Stick’s comeback plan: Rapid expansion and a new lobster on a stick

California’s icon, Hot Dog on a Stick, is planning a comeback with a new owner, new sales points and new meat varieties.

The fast food joint, with its roots in Santa Monica’s Muscle Beach and known for its corn dogs and hand-crusted lemonade, has been in decline since its glory days as a staple in food courts across the state. Increasing competition and the decline of shopping malls have reduced the mall’s presence, but the new owner has big plans for a comeback.

“The opportunity I see is to bring it back to people who have memories of it and to a new generation of young kids,” said Stephen Siegel, founder of Amazing Brands. Las Vegas acquired the company this month after its former parent company, Fat Brands, declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Siegel said it will open a flagship location in Las Vegas and expand into other markets while maintaining a strong presence in the Golden State.

Siegel wants to bring new energy to the brand as he reopens stores and adds new ones. It plans to reopen some indoor stands and add hundreds of outlets by expanding to locations beyond shopping malls, such as airports, stadiums, amusement parks and drive-thrus.

Hot Dog on a Stick has locations at these locations: four states Except for California, including Nevada, Utah, and Hawaii. The majority of their locations are in shopping malls. One notable exception is the original hot dog stand near the Santa Monica Pier.

The chain currently has about 45 locations, and Siegel hopes to increase that total to 1,000 within the next five years.

The menu is also set to change.

Siegel said Hot Dog on a Stick will continue with its classic hot dogs, but is considering adding other meats to the menu, such as fried fish, breakfast sausage, chicken strips and even lobster.

“There hasn’t been anything new to the menu in a long time, so we’re going to introduce some new things,” he said. “We have a lot of fun, creative ideas.”

It also plans to launch new flavors of the brand’s famous lemonade.

David Barham founded the hot dog icon 80 years ago by opening a food stand called Party Puffs in Muscle Beach.

Party Puffs started out selling ice cream and lemonade until Barham perfected his signature hot dog on a stick using his mother’s cornbread recipe.

After years of slow growth through crowded beach destinations and fairs, Hot Dog on a Stick has expanded into shopping malls; This proved to be a perfect match with its fast, cheap and easy-to-use menu.

It expanded largely across the western United States, hopping from mall to mall, and its uniforms of brightly striped shirts and hats became the symbol of 1980s mall life.

Bahrham died in 1991, leaving the company to its employee-shareholders, and the chain began to struggle.

A lack of updates, rising mall rents and a splurge on new businesses weakened his business until he declared bankruptcy in 2014. A fast-food brand management company and its investors bought it that year for about $12 million, and it became part of a broader portfolio of chains that included Round Table Pizza, Marble Slab Creamery and Pretzelmaker.

In 2021, Hot Dog on a Stick and other chains were sold to Fat Brands, which owns Fatburger, among other brands. Fat Brands had its own problems with growth and debt, and declared bankruptcy The sale of Hot Dog on a Stick opens in January.

Employees at Hot Dog on a Stick on the boardwalk near the Santa Monica pier.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

Seigel said he has been interested in revitalizing the hot dog stand brand for years and is considering the opportunity to take over. His Las Vegas company also operates Pinkbox Doughnuts, Siegel’s Bagelmania and Piero’s Italian Cuisine. Paid $8 million for the chain, according to Fat Brands restructuring the website.

“Over the years I’ve seen the brand just kind of sit around and do nothing,” Siegel said. “I thought this was an opportunity for someone like me who believes in brands and focuses on what the brand means.”

Siegel said Fat Brands’ bankruptcy was not due to the poor performance of any one restaurant but to the accumulation of significant debt. “This has nothing to do with Hot Dog on a Stick,” he said of the bankruptcy.

He thinks he can bring the struggling brand back into the spotlight by giving it more attention and insight than it has in decades.

“The Hot Dog on a Stick hasn’t been in the right hands since founder He died in 1991,” Siegel said.

Amazing Brands is currently retaining all of its employees and corporate staff.