The Red and Black

Issue date: 10/4/07 Section: Out & About

Media Credit: ANNA KRAKOVSKI [Click to enlarge]

Expect at least one person to remember that blurry weekend night you had downtown. Who better to witness late-night debauchery than the vendors who station themselves on Athens street corners Thursday, Friday and Saturday night?

They sell hot dogs - lots of them. Long lines of students often swarm the downtown sidewalks, anxious to dig into a fresh frankfurter dressed to their liking with mustard, ketchup and relish. In addition to running a profitable business, the vendors have collected endless anecdotes along the way.

"They've got the best stories besides door guys and bums," said Conn O'Leary, a senior from Seattle, Wash., and a doorman at The Loft.

Debora Hill, a vendor at the "Top Dawg" kiosk located at the intersection of College and Broad streets, said she has encountered all types of customers in her year and a half in the business - including those particular downtown patrons who show very little courtesy when purchasing their food.

"Just last week, somebody had too much to drink, and they came over and ordered some food, ate two or three hot dogs," she said. "We asked them for the money, and they took off running."

Sarah Gresham, the vendor stationed next to The Georgia Theatre and whose stand is also part of the Top Dawg chain, echoed similar unpredictable experiences.

"Two weeks ago, two girls and two guys got wrestled down to the ground by the police," she said.

Gresham has witnessed many fights in front of the stand, which often were linked to those pushing and cutting in line, battling for a hot dog. The busiest times, she said, are gamedays and the 2 a.m. rush after bars shut down for the night.

The "Top Dawg" chain owns the majority of stands downtown, satiating the appetites of students without emptying their wallets. Food prices are relatively inexpensive at Top Dawg kiosks - a hot dog is priced at $2, a burger is $3, and sodas and chips are only $1 each.

Of course, it doesn't take a big chain to make a name for yourself as a vendor. Located next to The 40 Watt Club, J.B.'s independent polish sausage stand can be spotted by the oversized, white truck bearing his image and advertising the stand's famous "comeback sauce." J.B., who has run his stand for more than eight years, made it clear that his dog is "not a hot dog, but a sausage dog."

Continued...

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