There is a ‘world famous’ hot dog place in Oregon. It is not a big city like Portland or Eugene, but Lang Roy, a small town on the southern coast that is marked on the map. It goes even further down in North Bend.
Rather than being a specialty restaurant, it is sold along with other delis at ‘Lang Roy’s Market’, the only grocery store in the area. Nevertheless, in this town with about 175 residents, hundreds of hot dogs are sold every day.
During the summer, up to 8 boxes are sold out, with each box containing enough for each resident. The owner told OregonLive.com that there are customers from out of town who travel hundreds of miles to eat these hot dogs.
The history of Lang Roy’s hot dogs began in 1981. At the time, this market was supplying lunch sandwiches to about 30 workers at a nearby sawmill, but the supply line was suddenly cut off. The owner decided to sell hot dogs instead. The mother-in-law who came up with the idea assured that hot dogs with her secret mustard taste better than sandwiches.
She was right.
The hot dogs became a best-seller at Lang Royce Market and continued to sell well after the mill closed in the 1990s. Jake Pestana, the current owner who inherited the car, said he probably sold 1.5 million units over the past 40 years. He is also taking orders for ‘World Luxury’ hot dogs online.
However, the promotional phrase ‘world famous’ was not given because of Lang Roy’s hot dogs.
When residents asked the state Department of Transportation to limit vehicle speeds on Route 101, which runs through the neighbourhood, in 2014, the Department of Transportation refused, saying the “road culture” was not in place to require vehicle speed restrictions. In protest, residents took it upon themselves to install signs along Route 101 that read, “Welcome to world-famous Langroyd.”
After that, the number of travellers stopping by the neighbourhood increased, and hot dogs also became famous.
Hot dogs have been priced at 99 cents for a long time but are now selling for $3.75. Jake Pestana plans to build an annex next year and open a hot dog restaurant. Pestana said that installing a large wooden hot dog sculpture in the restaurant building would create a wonderful “road culture.”