Gus's Hot Dogs: Difference between revisions

From Bhamwiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
No edit summary
No edit summary
 
(8 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
'''Gus's Hot Dogs''' can refer to one of several hot dog stands in the [[Birmingham area]]. [[Gus Alexander]], a Greek immigrant, opened the first location on [[4th Avenue North]] in the late 1940s.
:''This article is about the original Gus's Hot Dogs in downtown Birmingham. For other hot dog stands using the same name, see [[Gus's Hot Dogs (disambiguation)]].''
[[File:George Nasiakos.jpg|right|thumb|450px|George Nasiakos outside Gus's Hot Dogs in 2017. Photo by Joe Songer]]
'''Gus's Hot Dogs''' is a [[List of hot dog stands|hot dog stand]] located in a narrow space in a parking deck at 1915 [[4th Avenue North]] in [[downtown Birmingham]]. When Greek immigrant [[Gus Alexander]] first opened it in [[1947]], it was on the same block at [[Birmingham City Hall (1901)|Birmingham City Hall]].


* 1915 [[4th Avenue North]], owned by [[Gus Alexander]], [[John Kostakis]], and [[George Nasiakos]]
Alexander sold the business to [[Alex Choraitis]] in the 1960s before moving back home to Greece. Choraitis, in turn, asked another Greek-American, [[George Nasiakos]], to move to Birmingham from Chicago, Illinois to take over the restaurant in the mid-1990s. The sale closed on [[March 23]], [[1995]]. Nasiakos, known as "Mr George", modified the secret recipe sauce to make it a little bit milder.
* 3011 [[27th Street North]], [[North Birmingham]], owned by [[John Kostakis]]
 
* 302 [[Oxmoor Road]] in [[Homewood]], owned by [[Phillip DiGiorgio]]
When Nasiakos retired in April [[2017]] he sold the business to long-time customer [[Lee Pantazis]] and returned to Chicago. Long-term employee [[Carl Lee Alexander]], known as "L.A.", stayed on to help Pantazis learn the ropes.
* 224 [[Brooklane Drive]], [[Hueytown]]
 
* 430 [[Green Springs Highway]]
==References==
* 71 [[Church Street]]
* Evans, Amy (March 9, 2004) Interview with George Nasiakos. Southern Foodways Alliance oral history project on Greeks in Birmingham
* 5415 Beacon Drive in [[Irondale]]
* Carlton, Bob (May 19, 2017) "Preserving a Birmingham hot dog tradition at Gus's downtown." {{BN}}
* Byington, Pat (August 21, 2020) "We agree. Birmingham’s Gus’s Hot Dogs is one of America’s best." ''[[Bham Now]]''
 
==External link==
* "[http://vimeo.com/3460153 Hot-Dogopolis]" documentary short by the Southern Foodways Alliance
* [http://www.southernfoodways.com/documentary/oh/greek/BG04_gushotdogs.shtml Gus's Hot Dogs] at southernfoodways.com


{{stub}}
[[Category:Hot dog stands]]
[[Category:Hot dog stands]]
[[Category:1947 establishments]]
[[Category:4th Avenue North]]
[[Category:4th Avenue North]]
[[Category:27th Street North]]
[[Category:Greek-owned restaurants]]
[[Category:Oxmoor Road]]
[[Category:Green Springs Highway]]
[[Category:Church Street]]
[[Category:Brooklane Drive]]

Latest revision as of 11:06, 21 August 2020

This article is about the original Gus's Hot Dogs in downtown Birmingham. For other hot dog stands using the same name, see Gus's Hot Dogs (disambiguation).
George Nasiakos outside Gus's Hot Dogs in 2017. Photo by Joe Songer

Gus's Hot Dogs is a hot dog stand located in a narrow space in a parking deck at 1915 4th Avenue North in downtown Birmingham. When Greek immigrant Gus Alexander first opened it in 1947, it was on the same block at Birmingham City Hall.

Alexander sold the business to Alex Choraitis in the 1960s before moving back home to Greece. Choraitis, in turn, asked another Greek-American, George Nasiakos, to move to Birmingham from Chicago, Illinois to take over the restaurant in the mid-1990s. The sale closed on March 23, 1995. Nasiakos, known as "Mr George", modified the secret recipe sauce to make it a little bit milder.

When Nasiakos retired in April 2017 he sold the business to long-time customer Lee Pantazis and returned to Chicago. Long-term employee Carl Lee Alexander, known as "L.A.", stayed on to help Pantazis learn the ropes.

References

  • Evans, Amy (March 9, 2004) Interview with George Nasiakos. Southern Foodways Alliance oral history project on Greeks in Birmingham
  • Carlton, Bob (May 19, 2017) "Preserving a Birmingham hot dog tradition at Gus's downtown." The Birmingham News
  • Byington, Pat (August 21, 2020) "We agree. Birmingham’s Gus’s Hot Dogs is one of America’s best." Bham Now

External link