(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – A beloved, old-school hot dog stand on Chicago’s Northwest Side is marking a major milestone this month.
Superdawg, 6363 N. Milwaukee Ave., is known for its hot dog humanoids atop the roof as well as its plump proprietary links, which are served atop a bed of fries. While countless restaurants have come and gone over the years, this Chicago eating spot is being recognized for some serious staying power.
Not long after the end of World War II, newlyweds Maurie and Flaurie Berman opened the hot dog stand. The restaurant is still family-run.
“Who could imagine that what my folks started as newlyweds in 1948 is here today in 2023?” Lisa Drucker told WBBM Newsradio on Thursday.
Her brother, Scott Berman, noted that the site of Superdawg, near Devon, was once pretty remote. Today, it’s surrounded by commercial development and residential housing.
“When our parents opened up out here, this was the very edge of the city,” he said. “There was no city around it.”
Berman said his father was a World War II veteran who survived the Battle of the Bulge. The elder Berman’s idea was to use the hot dog stand as a way to help him pay to attend Northwestern University to become a CPA (he did). His spouse was a school teacher.
“They both liked hot dogs. They liked eating hot dogs. They figured they could run a hot dog place,” Scott Berman said.
The restaurant opened year-round in 1950. The joint has always had car-hop service, and the central building is original. But Superdawg’s paw print has expanded over the years as the owners bought adjacent lots, the son said.
Both Maurie and Flaurie have passed on. But their iconic alter-egos – the hot dog statues atop Superdawg, named, yes, Maurie and Flaurie – are going strong.
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