Hot Dog Heaven Highlights the Holiday

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.

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.

Dec. 2, 1983

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.

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.

Hot Dog! Love Them Giant Santas!

Large, fiberglas Santa Claus figures mounted in front of (or on top of) commercial businesses have been part of the seasonal landscape in Northeast Ohio since at least the early 1960s.

I devoted a whole post to this holiday phenomenon back here.

The most well-known example locally is the one displayed each year by the good folks at Hot Dog Heaven in Amherst (shown above in 2021). That particular Santa Claus holds a book and a pen, and is identical to the one that was out at Oakwood Shopping Center in 1960.

And this year, Santa is back at his familiar post in front of the restaurant.

But just how long has Santa been hotdogging it in Amherst?

Here's the earliest ad that I could find promoting the Santa figure. It appeared in the Journal on December 8, 1984.

A story in the Morning Journal of December 13, 1991 reveals some information. It notes, "In the front yard of Hot Dog Heaven, Amherst, is a jolly, happy Santa that stops the traffic and the school buses full of smiling faces who slow down to stare at him. He's 13-feet tall, weighs 300 pounds and is made of fiberglas. Jack O'Flanagan, owner, says, "The children and adults just love to see him out there. It takes four of us approximately two hours to put him up each year, but it's worth it."

The article continues, "Jack isn't sure how old Santa really is, as he purchased him 10 years ago from a gentleman in Lorain who had him for four years. Seems the man had bought a building in Lorain and found Santa on the roof. He's been on display ever since."

Anyway, I've been wondering for a while just where that Hot Dog Heaven Santa Claus came from.

And here's a possible lead, although I have no way of knowing for sure. It's from the Sunday, December 17, 1972 Lorain Journal and shows a new east side business – with a Santa on the roof holding a book and pen, in the same style as the one in front of Hot Dog Heaven.

The caption notes, "Swinging into the holiday season with Santa is one of Lorain's newest businesses, the Swing In Beverage store at 825 East Erie Avenue. Owners Mr. and Mrs. James Hambly took over a store that had been vacant for three years to create the drive-through type beverage store."

Today, the building is home to D&D Coins & Jewelry.

Anyway, it would be interesting to know for sure if the Hot Dog Heaven Santa Claus spent some time promoting liquor before his current gig helping to sell frankfurters.

Hot Dog Heaven Santa Claus

The new version of Hot Dog Heaven isn’t quite finished yet, so the restaurant’s beloved Santa Claus set up shop once again in front of the Amherst Town Hall. It’s been a great location for Jolly Old St. Nick since the fire.

Like many people, I am excited to see the new restaurant, and I’m looking forward to a chili cheese dog (hold the onions) and a big serving of French Fries.

What’s Cooking at the Hot Dog Heaven Construction Site

The original Hot Dog Heaven building
(Courtesy TripAdvisor.com)

Yesterday’s post was about a restaurant that suffered a disastrous fire that wasn’t able to rebuild. Today’s post is about one that’s rebuilding right now.

The construction of the new home of Hot Dog Heaven in Amherst is well underway. It’s interesting watching it slowly take shape.

I’m glad the new building will reflect the warm, homey appearance of the old house it used to call home, rather than some slick, soulless fast-food joint. Here’s an architectural rendering of what the new building will look like when done. The design is quite clever in that it will look like the old building, expanded and enlarged.

The funny thing is, I’ve eaten at Hot Dog Heaven more often since it moved temporarily into the food truck at Hastee Tastee. The service is pretty fast and it’s much more convenient than it was going inside the old building. I’ve joked with the staff a few times that they should just move the food truck across the street to the old location. But the new location will have a drive-through, which will be great.

The view on Sept. 24, 2021

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In a manner of years, it’s quite possible that people will wonder what that stretch of Cleveland Street looked like before the new, enlarged Hot Dog Heaven was built. Thus, here are a few Google maps views showing the two houses that were torn down to make way for the new restaurant.

Merry Christmas!

Here’s wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas, and a safe and Happy New Year.

I might take a few days off from blogging during the holidays. We’ll see.

As you can see, the Hot Dog Heaven Santa Claus has a new home this year, in front of the Amherst Town Hall. It’s good to see him, and a nice reminder of how great it will be when the new restaurant is built and open.

By the way, I’m now pretty sure he's a double of the Santa that used to be on display at Parmatown Mall in 1960.

You Know it's Christmas When...

...Santa shows up outside of Hot Dog Heaven in Amherst!

That's such a great statue of Santa Claus. I wish I could remember the story behind it. I recall that the statue was found lying on the roof of some business in downtown Lorain. Then Hot Dog Heaven acquired him, cleaned him all up and display him annually in front of their restaurant at 493 Cleveland Avenue in Amherst.

If you love chili dogs like I do, then you gotta get to Hot Dog Heaven. For a menu and location information, visit their website by clicking here.

UPDATE (Dec. 8, 2019)
Found this photo of a very similar Santa statue that stood outside May Company at Parmatown Mall in 1960. It was in an Arcadia Images of America book, “Cleveland’s Department Stores” by Christopher Faircloth.