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| The view on Saturday |
A sure sign that Christmas is coming is the presence of the huge Santa Claus in front of Hot Dog Heaven in Amherst. It just wouldn't be Christmas in Amherst without it.
How long has this tradition been going on?
Although I've researched him before, I know now that Santa's first appearance in front of the popular restaurant was Christmas 1982.
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| Dec. 9, 1982 |
The following year,
Journal ads for Hot Dog Heaven running in December included a mention of its special Santa as the perfect backdrop for a holiday photo.
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| Dec. 2, 1983 |
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| Dec. 8, 1984 |
A few years after Santa's initial appearance at Hot Dog Heaven, the
Journal again dispatched a shutterbug to capture the jolly old elf's installation.
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| Dec. 19, 1985 |
With its Santa Claus well-known and visitors coming from miles around to see and photograph him, it really wasn't necessary to plug him in newspaper ads all the time. After all, everyone knows where to find Santa now – he's right on Cleveland Avenue in Amherst.
I don't eat a lot of hot dogs these days (they're not exactly health food), but after preparing this post, I think I have a hankering for a Hot Dog Heaven chili dog.
3 comments:
Such a nice-looking store now with good parking, very different from what I remember
Jack was one of the nicest owners I dealt with in my days at The Journal. By the 80’s we included photos of his family packs in the ads…he always offered for us to take the pack once we were done shooting. Nothing better than chili dogs and fries for breakfast!
My kids went to school in Amherst just down the street from HDH so the Santa was always a big hit.
Todd
I always admired the oak woodwork in the original home that became Hot Dog Heaven. The trim around the windows on the interior was unique. When I remodeled my home I copied that style for my living room windows. I am happy to see they duplicated the look on the new building.
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