When I want a Sam’s Hot Dog fix, I have to go out of town. With ten million restaurants in Charlottesville, you’d think we’d have one Sam’s Hot Dog Stand, but we don’t. Crozet, Waynesboro, or Harrisonburg are our three closesst options. In my opinion, Sam’s is one of the best hot dog vendors anywhere, right up there with Cap’n Franks on the Outer Banks.
Their hot dogs are simply perfect. I order mine – as always – with chili, mustard, slaw, and onions, but they will throw everything on them but the kitchen sink if you ask.
Sam’s is part of a franchise. The company was originated because a fellow hot dog lover, Frank Lucente, became addicted to hot dogs from a local stand in Huntington, WV. Every time he came back home, he ordered those dogs. Then the company went out of business and Frank scrambled to find someone who knew the recipe for their special chili. He did and then opened his first store in 1983. There are now about 50 Sam’s franchises in the southeast.
These wieners are special because they use only all-beef hot dogs. They steam their buns and make their own coleslaw (that is superb) and they cut the onions fresh, daily.
Sam’s has other items on the menu, including BBQ, Egg Salad and Tuna Salad, but if you go to a hot dog stand, get the hot dogs.
Anytime I’m in Waynesboro near lunch time, I make a visit to Sam’s. The Waynesboro restaurant is truly a hole in the wall. It is 8-feet wide, really, and about 50 feet deep, but they can squeeze a dozen diners in at a time and the take-out traffic is non-stop. Their prices are most reasonable, the service is first-rate, and their hot dogs are among the best I have ever eaten
Sam’s is located at 416 W, Main Street. If you are passing through and want to call in an order, it’s 540-942-9093.
Truly great hot dogs!
