Retro Dogz celebrated its grand opening week before last, though it’s been open since for more than a month. (Yep, I’m a little late in spreading the word.) They even had their first health inspection, and scored a 98.75%.
If you haven’t been there yet, it’s in the spot formerly occupied by Frosty’s.
Chris Bortisser, who had previously owned August Wynn in Manette and Augustino’s on the West side, had a hand in starting it. He said he wanted to move to food that was far more simple than the upper-scale dinners of those previous restaurants. And dogs are pretty simple.
But he’s not there most days. Daily, Dave Corin is running the show with Matt Riggs behind the red and white umbrella-covered stand.
Retro Dogz specializes in dogs served many styles including one covered in chili, a Chicago style — with a sweet, neon-green relish, mustard, a spear of dill pickle, tomatoes, onions, hot peppers and celery salt — and a standard Retro Dog with ketchup, mustard relish and onions. They also regularly serve tuna- and egg-salad sandwiches and treats.
The dogs are Nathan’s frankfurters, which were first sold at a Coney Island hot dog stand. For now, that’s the only kind of dog there is. Corin said the future may hold more when the weather improves enough for grilling. he may even expand to pulled pork and other items.
For now, though, they’re varying the menu (photo below) with weekly specials, such as last week’s Coney Island style dog or the Carolina dog with slaw on top the week before that, which now are going to be regulars on the menu, Corin said. This week, it’s The Baja Dog.
