Hot dogs: a national food

Palm Coast Observer
Opinion

In case you didn’t know, Tuesday was National Hot Dog Day. While trolling through social media Monday evening, I came across a post from Hot Diggity Dog on Facebook offering $2 hotdogs with unlimited toppings to all customers on National Hot Dog Day. Boy, was I excited about this one.

I planned my Tuesday evening around going to the hot dog stand before my softball game. The plan was somewhat of a sentimental one. I haven’t had at Hot Diggity Dog before, but when I was a kid, that small building settled on the south end of Bunnell went by the name Mr. Hot Dog and More, and we would stop there before/after softball games on a regular basis. The name changed about 10 years ago, when the original owners sold the place and Jacob Skeens bought the hot dog mecca in November 2012. I figured National Hot Dog Day was the perfect time to test out the new owner’s perspective on the place.

All afternoon, I was thinking about what scrumptious toppings I could get on my foot-long, and, without seeing the menu, I was getting pretty set on smothering my dog in chili, cheese and onions. I even told my co-workers how excited I was to have a fat-kid moment before we played. But, as I rounded the corner on U.S. 1, I noticed that a place I was expecting to be booming with people was desolate. Not a single car in the place.

Oh, no, I thought. They ran out of dogs!

As I pulled through, I searched the order window for an hours-of-operation sign. Staring me in the face was a close time of 6 p.m. on week nights. I immediately looked at the clock on my dash: 6:15. Darn!

While I was thoroughly disappointed with not getting a hot dog Tuesday night, I was able to catch up with the owner the next day.

Skeens was beyond thrilled with the Tuesday turn out, adding that many new customers made it out in response to the Facebook post. Although he hadn’t hammered out the numbers completely, compared to a normal day of service, sales were up 200%, he said.

So how does someone from West Virginia come to own a hot dog shop in Bunnell? It’s the story of how many people get to Flagler County: Skeens followed his parents here.

Skeens’ parents had been Flagler County residents for eight years when he fell in love with the area. When the opportunity to buy Hot Diggity Dog came up, he jumped at it.

Growing up in West Virginia, Skeens said they ate hot dogs with everything, even in spaghetti.

“I never lost the appetite for hot dogs,” he said, laughing.

Almost through his first year of ownership, Skeens said owning the hot dog joint is everything he dreamed it would be.