California-originated Hot Dog on a Stick chain sold to company with big ideas
A company associated with a Las Vegas donut chain, bagel shop and Italian restaurant has acquired a popular western U.S. hot dog chain and plans to expand it across the globe.
Fat Brands, which purchased Hot Dog on a Stick in 2021, filed for bankruptcy protection in January after reporting more than $1 billion in debt and over 1,000 creditors, according to court dockets. On June 8, an affiliate of Amazing Brands announced it has acquired the Hot Dog on a Stick brand through a bankruptcy court-approved transaction.
It was bought for $8 million in cash, an April 28 court docket shows.
Amazing Brands has ownership of Las Vegas’ Pinkbox Doughnuts, Siegel’s Bagelmania and Piero’s Italian Cuisine. Its founder, Stephen Siegel, also owns a real estate business operating apartment buildings and holding vacant property on the Strip.
Hot Dog on a Stick was founded in 1946 in Santa Monica, according to a news release. It once operated more than 100 locations and now operates 44 in California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Hawaii.
Siegel plans to expand the brand “while preserving the nostalgia and traditions that have defined Hot Dog on a Stick” for 80 years, according to the release.
“Sometimes great brands simply need renewed energy, attention and a lot of love. I believe I am the right person to give Hot Dog on a Stick exactly that,” Siegel said in a statement. “I grew up loving Hot Dog on a Stick ... My wife also has a deep connection to the company, having served as general manager of the Montebello Town Center location in the 1990s.”
The expansion will include company-owned and franchised locations “with an emphasis on flagship street-front restaurants, drive-thru locations, tourist destinations, airports, stadiums, amusement parks” and other high-profile locations, according to the release.
Siegel’s Las Vegas-based company will immediately begin searching for a flagship location on the Las Vegas Strip while pursuing additional locations throughout the city.
“While Hot Dog on a Stick has been predominantly a West Coast success story, we believe the time has come to bring it to the rest of America — and ultimately to the world,” Siegel said in a statement.
What will happen to Hot Dog on a Stick’s California locations?
The majority of Hot Dog on a Stick’s locations are in California, including one in Modesto, one in Fresno and three in the Sacramento area.
The news release gave no indication that Amazing Brands plans to shutter any existing locations, despite one of Hot Dog on a Stick’s previous parent companies filing for bankruptcy protection “after struggling with declining foot traffic in malls and expensive leases,” the Los Angeles Times reported in 2014.
Amazing Brands will retain “substantially all existing” employees, according to the release. The company plans to modernize the brand while preserving its identity, refine restaurant design, boost Hot Dog on a Stick’s social media presence and innovate the menu.
Other plans include selling ready-made versions of the chain’s popular lemonade and other products in grocery and retail stores,
“This is about respecting everything people already love while thoughtfully evolving the brand for the next generation,” Siegel said in a statement.
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