ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) – If you decided to count the number of Virginia restaurants over 100 years old, you probably wouldn’t make it very far. Fortunately for us, one of the most well-known is right in the heart of the Star City. We’re getting a history lesson at The Roanoke Weiner Stand for this week’s Hometown Eats.
“If you’ve never had a hot dog like that, once you try it, you won’t go back,” said 4th generation Roanoke Weiner Stand owner David Willoughby.
What David is talking about is one of the famous Roanoke Weiner Stand hot dogs, and they’ve sold millions. Welcome to the Roanoke Weiner Stand in downtown Roanoke.
“We are the oldest restaurant in Roanoke. We were established in 1916,” said Willoughby proudly.
It all started when David’s grandfather Harry came from Greece and started a hot dog stand with his wife Elsie. 109 years later they’ve moved from one corner of the Center in the Square building to another.
Unfortunately, we don’t have moving pictures from 109 years ago, but we did find something in our WDBJ7 archives from August 6, 1974.
David’s uncle Gus Pappas, aka Big Gus, took over after Harry & Elise passed away and ran the business with David’s father, Gus Chacknes. As you can clearly see from the footage, this place has been a hit for decades.
“I was in here all the time and it was kind of cool seeing all the older guys that you kind of looked up to making hot dogs and kind of being icons of Roanoke, because they ‘re there every time and people loved the hot dogs, so they come down to chat with them and it was kind of neat to be a part of that,” said Willoughby.
“Me and my dad used to go to the hospital up here and we would come down here when I was 5 or 6 years old when it was at the other location and walk up to the window and bring the hot dogs back to Community Hospital when somebody was in the hospital,” said regular customer Mark as he took us down memory lane.
“I remember coming with my granddaddy, he liked it and my daddy. Granddaddy Crawford was from Lexington, NC… Welcome, actually, but every time he came to visit us, he’d want to come get him a hot dog and hang out,” said regular customer Sammy.
Not only was the food a hit; people came for the personalities behind the counter, like longtime employee Johnny Liakos.
“A lot of people think of Johnny because he worked for us for 54 years and he was always working the grill a lot. I worked with Johnny a lot when I was younger and that was pretty neat,” said Willoughby.
Much of that history can be seen on the walls throughout this hot dog joint with a retro diner feel. From the pictures from the flood of ‘85 to various candid shots over the years. Even a letter from former first lady Barbara Bush, who stopped by for a bite in 1988.
“We have it hanging on the wall with her picture, which is pretty neat. The painting here was hand-painted by Eric Fitzpatrick, who is pretty well known around the area and done a lot of pictures for us. In 1987 I believe he did that and you can see the apples he’s holding, Pappas Brand. This sign here isn’t the original but it’s from the 1970s,” explained Willoughby.
As for the dogs, they’re built today the same way they stared 109 years ago.
“We’re known for mustard, chili, and onions. We steam our buns; it’s kind of our signature thing. We use a high-quality hot dog and 80 percent of the people get them all the way or with, which is with onions. We have a combo, two hot dogs, a fry and a drink, which is our most popular menu item,” said Willoughby.
“I always just get two all the way,” said Sammy.
“I just like the unique flavor of the chili, man. It’s good,” added Mark.
“The best hot dogs in town,” said regular customer Larry.
“We smoke our own barbecue, and we have a South Carolina-style barbecue sauce that’s like a sweet mustard base. Our sloppy joes are very popular. We do a homemade sauce with hearty onions and peppers and everything in there,” said Willoughby.
That’s what I went with; simply put I don’t think I’ve ever had a sloppy joe in the now 4 years hosting Hometown Eats. And of course, some cheese fries.
Being a family business, David hopes to one day pass this must-have hot dog stand for so many onto he and his wife Renae’s kids, Kennedy and Linwood.
“God willing, I can pass it down to them and they can keep it going for who knows,” said Willoughby.
Until then you’ll likely find David and the family here doing what they do best, sending out high quality hot dogs to very happy customers.
“If you want a hot dog or a good lunch, you got to come to the Roanoke Weiner Stand,” said Larry.
Roanoke Weiner Stand, one of the oldest hometown eats in Virginia.
Roanoke Weiner Stand is located at 110 Market Square SE, Roanoke, VA 24011 and open Monday through Saturday 11 am to 4pm.
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Dining and Cooking