Hot Dog on a Stick is a

fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredien ...

company that was founded by Dave Barham in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, in 1946, and later branched out into malls and shopping centers. In 2014, the company was purchased by

Global Franchise Group Global Franchise Group was a brand-acquisition and management firm headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It specialized in franchising and quick-service restaurant industries. It was founded in 2010 with the acquisition of NexCen Br ...

(the strategic brand management company behind

Great American Cookies Great American Cookie Co., doing business as Great American Cookies is an American chain of independently owned and operated franchised stores that specialize in gourmet cookies, especially cookie cakes. It has over 290 stores in the U.S., part ...

Marble Slab Creamery Marble Slab Creamery (Marble Slab) is an American chain of ice cream shops owned by FAT Brands. Its corporate offices are in Atlanta, Georgia. There are more than 392 stores in various countries, all independently owned and franchised. Histo ...

, and

Pretzelmaker Pretzelmaker is a chain of independently owned and operated franchised stores that specialize in hand-rolled pretzels, smoothies and cold beverages. It is a franchise brand in the portfolio of Global Franchise Group. It has more than 280 locatio ...

) based in Atlanta, GA. Under GFG, the brand has opened new locations across the country and moved into the franchising space.

History

The first Hot Dog on a Stick store opened at the original

Muscle Beach Muscle Beach is the birthplace of the United States physical fitness boom, which started in 1934 with predominantly gymnastics activities on the south side of the Santa Monica Pier. Muscle Beach Venice is the contemporary title of the outdoor we ...

location next to the

Santa Monica Pier The Santa Monica Pier is a large double-jointed pier at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica, California, United States. It contains a small amusement park, concession stands, and areas for views and fishing. Attractions Pacific Park Th ...

in Santa Monica, California, in 1946, serving

lemonade Lemonade is a sweetened lemon-flavored beverage. There are varieties of lemonade found throughout the world. In North America and South Asia, cloudy still lemonade is the most common variety. There it is traditionally a homemade drink using le ...

and

corn dog A corn dog (also spelled corndog) is a sausage (usually a hot dog) on a stick that has been coated in a thick layer of cornmeal batter and deep fried. It originated in the United States and is commonly found in American cuisine. History Newly a ...

s on sticks to people on the beach. The second location opened in the late 50s at

Pacific Ocean Park Pacific Ocean Park was a nautical-themed amusement park built on a pier at Pier Avenue in the Ocean Park section of Santa Monica, California in 1958. Intended to compete with Disneyland, it replaced Ocean Park Pier (1926-1956). After it closed ...

(also sometimes stylized as "P.O.P." and not to be confused with the current Pacific Park Pier in Santa Monica today) in Santa Monica, California. In 1962, a third location was opened on the Redondo Beach Pier, which remains the only independently owned location under the name "Craig's Hot Dog on a Stick." Hot Dog on a Stick later expanded and became a large food chain. Hot Dog on a Stick currently has just 35 United States locations, which are primarily located in popular regional shopping malls. There are also internationally franchised locations, in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

and

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, China. On June 28, 2021, Global Franchise Group announced that it would be acquired by FAT Brands, owners of

Fatburger Fatburger North America Inc. (doing business as Fatburger) is an American fast casual restaurant chain. Its tagline is ''The Last Great Hamburger Stand''. While it is a fast food restaurant, the food is cooked and made to order. Some Fatburger ...

and

Johnny Rockets } The Johnny Rockets Group Inc. is an American restaurant franchise whose themed decor is based upon 1950s diner-style restaurants. Décor includes Coca-Cola advertising, featuring nearly life-size cardboard illustrations of women in World War II ...

. The acquisition was completed on July 22.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hot Dog On A Stick 1946 establishments in California 2014 mergers and acquisitions American companies established in 1946 companies based in Carlsbad, California companies based in Santa Monica, California companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2014 Hot dog restaurants in the United States restaurants established in 1946