These are the dog days of summer.
Especially at Gold Coast's Downtown Dogs. The restaurant has dubbed its double dog served on a single bun the "Equality Dog," taking its cue for the promotion from the news swirling around Chick-fil-A.
Chick-fil-A, one street over from Downtown Dogs in Chicago, has made headlines over the controversy stemming from COO Dan Cathy's anti-gay marriage comments made last month.
"We thought it was a creative and fun way to show people we believe in equality for all people," said Matt Kubinski, marketing director at Downtown Dogs.
The Equality Dog, marketed with the slogan "two wieners is just fine by us," costs $4.95. Until Labor Day, the eatery will be donating $1 from every Equality Dog sold to Equality Illinois, a LGBT advocacy organization.
This marks the first time Downtown Dogs is working with an LGBT group but has donated to charities such as P.A.W.S. in the past, Kubinski said.
"We are so honored by the outpouring of support by businesses from every corner of the state for LGBT equality. We're especially grateful to Downtown Dogs for using their creativity and cheekiness to raise dollars for such an important cause," Randy Hannig, Equality Illinois public policy director, said in a news release.
lvivanco@tribune.com | @lvivanco