Logan Square hot dog stand Redhot Ranch is opening a second location in Lakeview this fall.
Located at 3055 N. Ashland Ave., the second location will sell the same Depression Dogs,Vienna hot dogs wrapped with fries, and French-fried shrimp as the Logan Square original and 35th Street Red Hots, its sibling restaurant in Bridgeport. In addition, the larger space will permit a menu expansion that will include hamburgers in the style of West Coast chain In-N-Out Burger.
"We're going to try to come as close to their burger as possible," said owner Barry Nemerow. "I think we can pretty much duplicate it."
The restaurant will serve single, double and triple quarter-pound patties topped with lettuce, tomato, onion and a secret sauce similar to Thousand Island dressing. Nemerow said he and his staff will gauge customer reactions to the formula at another Redhot Ranch opening this month in suburban Lincolnwood.
The expansion spree is driven by the existing hot dogs stands' success. "Business has almost doubled in the last six months," Nemerow said. "We keep the costs down. We have a low profit margi, so we work on volume to be able to make money. We try to bring people in with word of mouth. By giving high quality and low prices, we've been doing well."
The 2,000-square-foot Lakeview space will have seating for about 40 people and a parking lot with about a dozen spaces. They're also looking into having some outdoor seating on Barry Avenue, though that likely won't appear until next year.
Nemerow reached out to Miller Chicago Real Estate to rent the space, which has been vacant since Dona Torta closed due to a fire. "It's a really good location for fast-casual dining," principal broker Andrea Miller said. "It's on the corner; it has parking."
The area's nightlife and absence of hotdog stands attracted Nemerow, who hopes to attract bar- and club-goers looking for a snack after last call by staying open until 4 a.m. on weeknights and 5 a.m. weekends.
Nemerow also owns The Wiener's Circle and is looking into opening another location of that restaurant while also licensing the concept for Wiener's Circle restaurants due to open in Las Vegas and California within the next six to eight months.
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