Hot Dog! Dog 'N Suds Better Than Ever in 2024!

Dog 'N Suds has only been open for about two weeks, and I've already been there twice. Its strong presence on Facebook has got me trained like a docile doggie to keep coming back.

On April 2nd, Opening Day, I carried out my meal because rain was in the forecast. It was just overcast while I was there, but by the time I was on Route 2 heading home, the expected torrential downpour came. (By the way, the cute car-hop unintentionally made my delicious Texas Burger & Fries a theme dinner by wearing cowboy boots.)

It was perfect weather for my second visit, this past Saturday for lunch. My chili dog (hold the onions) and root beer were picture perfect too – and I'm not woofin'. The service was great too.

I think the chili dog was quite possibly the best I'd ever had there. The chili sauce was sweet and meaty, the same as always, but nice and thick. And the root beer in the frosted mug was perfect as well. I didn't even mind when some ice flaked off the mug and dropped onto my car seat, providing my Hyundai Venue its baptism of fast food fire, and curing me of new-car-itis.

Anyway, Ilene's Dog 'N Suds on North Ridge Road is the only one in Ohio now, and one of only 20 locations in the whole country! So get out there and support an iconic Lorain County business.

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I've been writing about Dog 'N Suds on this blog since 2009. Many posts were dedicated to trying to determine when it actually opened. 

A few years ago, I finally figured out that it originally opened around the fall of 1963, remained open in 1964 but seemed to have been shuttered during 1965. Then in the summer of 1966, it reopened as Eckstein's Dog 'N Suds.

Grand Opening Ad from Lorain Journal, July 1, 1966

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Years ago, you had to be a real bloodhound to track down Dog 'N Suds memorabilia in antique shops and flea markets. I used to collect a few items, and still have a vintage wrapper somewhere in my files. 

But a quick check on eBay reveals a veritable coney-dog-copia of Dog 'N Suds mugs for sale. 

I wonder if any (the ones with Rover the mascot) are from the early August 1966 theft of 24 mugs from the Oberlin Dog 'N Suds drive-in on Route 58 by a, er, cat burglar?

There are other Dog 'N Suds items on eBay as well, including a paper cup, a place mat and a free root beer card.

The place mat notes that at that time, there were more than 500 locations! With a mere twenty now, it's all the more reason to support our Dog 'N Suds in Lorain County.