Valdosta Daily Times releases a story

Business Section

BY BILLY BRUCE

There is nothing worse than hearing a mournful yelp from a lonely dog. But at Mad Dogs restaurant, these dogs won’t be lonely for long, especially if the restaurant’s hungry patrons have anything to do with it.
We’re talking hot dogs, Italian sausage, bratwurst, and the works. With more than 20 toppings to choose from, it might be hard to find the hot dog or sausage underneath all the available trimmings.
They’ll be smothered in love, the ordering customer might say.
Mad Dogs, the area’s newest gourmet hot-dog restaurant, opened in the Bemiss Plaza (Harvey’s shopping center) Saturday, March 1 at 4030-A Bemiss Road just north of town, to much local acclaim.
The restaurant building is decked out for fun, in true 1950s retro-replica decor, with black and white vinyl tile floors, red and white “memory” cushion chairs and stools, and table and countertops of turquoise swirl color to match the turquoise paint on the walls.
The decor’s “50s Sock Hop” appeal is greatly enhanced by the tunes flowing out of the eatery’s sound system. Original ‘50s music gently blares from its source on Dish Satellite. From Buddy Holly to Bobby Darin there’s nothing that makes a one scoop root beer float go down better than the fond memories evoked by Sam Cooke, for example, belting out the memorable “Cupid, draw back your bow, and let your arrow go — straight to my lover’s heart from me.”
Owners Mary and Andrew Wardle say they’re tickled pink at the public response in the virgin days of the operation. The restaurant had been a dream of Mary Wardle’s for the past five years. Three years ago, she decided to make it happen.
“I wanted to come up with a theme that Valdosta didn’t have,” she says of her idea to open a hot dog restaurant with ‘50s decor. “The ‘50s represent fun and great memories. After deciding the food menu, that was the second decision I made. The colors and decor just all fell into place. Watching my dream come to pass before my eyes was so exciting. When I look around here, it’s like I need someone to pinch me so I’ll know this is for real and not a dream.”
She even dreamed what her employees would wear and what they would say to customers. “To see them wearing and saying what I dreamed is just surreal,” she said.
To find the retro-50s decor, Mary “Googled” an Internet search and came up with the Artista Company in Warner Robins. The firm sent her a catalogue, and she found just what she’d dreamed. She’s expecting 11 of the Artista employees to share a meal with her in the shop any day now.
Her visitors in the opening week have included a wide variety of hot dog lovers, from a local motorcycle club to Moody AFB personnel to an unusual visit from the University of South Florida’s Ultimate Frisbee team, who spied the fancy building while passing by on Bemiss.
“They said they had never eaten at a hot dog restaurant and decided to try it out,” Mary said. “They couldn’t believe that we offer so many toppings for the dogs and sausages. One even ordered macaroni and cheese on their bratwurst. Hey if we have it on the menu and you want it on your dog, we’ll do it.
“The only limit is your imagination. If you wanted the kitchen sink, I might consider it,” she added with a facetious laugh, as The Everly Brothers’ “Crying In The Rain” crooned from the satellite radio.
Husband Andrew provided the financial backing and helped Mary navigate through the tedious red tape involved with local county and city permitting processes. He also helped her oversee the contractors’ work.
Mary takes care of the day to day operations. She has plenty of experience in restaurant work, having worked for more than 20 years in the business locally with fast food restaurants, schools, Wild Adventures and Five Star Vending and Catering Service.
“I started working at age 16 for Burger King and was their breakfast manager by age 18,” she said. “This is very hard work, but I love it.”
Potential guests shouldn’t miss a chance to meet Elvis. That is, there’s this automated bust of The King of Rock n’ Roll that moves and gestures when you walk past it. The Big E even curls his lip.
OK kind of spooky. But hey, this is a fun place that’s bound to do well if it’s initial opening business is any indication. The Wardles already are considering opening a second location in town on Baytree Road. They want to add outdoor patio seating in front with umbrellas and a protective railing to keep the kids out of the shopping center’s busy traffic. Stay tuned for more to come.

Q: What are some of the modern features you’ve added here that might be far ahead of the ‘50s theme?

A: We’ve got WiFi wireless Internet service that’s free, available in medium to high speed bands for laptop-equipped customers with wireless capability. There is a large high definition flat screen TV on the wall connected to satellite so favorite sports games or other programs can be enjoyed.

Q: How much would an average lunch cost at Mad Dog’s?

A: You can get a single dog or sausage meal with any toppings, chips and pickle spear and beverage for between $6 and $7. And when we say “any toppings,” we mean any toppings. We don’t charge extra for toppings, so you can have as many as you want.

Q: Do you serve alcoholic beverages?

A: (Mary Wardle) At first I didn’t want to because I wanted to be sure we provide a family friendly atmosphere. But a lot of potential patrons told me they would love to be able to have a beer with their meals. So we decided to pursue a license for serving bottled and draft beer. We are on the Lowndes County Commission’s March 25 agenda for approval. As long as we can maintain a family friendly environment, I’ll be OK with it.

Q: What specials or promotional activities are planned?

A: We will have a discount program for military, firefighters and law enforcement personnel. We want to start a discount program for everyone that, say, after your 10th purchased meal, you get one free. We will have a gift card option available. That’s for starters.

Q: Can someone really come to your restaurant a few or more times a week and find enough different types of foods to make the frequent return trips worthwhile?

A: Definitely. We have several meal combinations on the menu. We serve hot dogs, Italian sausage, spicy Italian sausage, bratwurst, and beer bratwurst. We’ve got eight different flavors of all natural Dirty Potato Chips. We have a meaty chili and a vegetarian chili. We have three different style of buns and three different cheeses to choose from. Sides include the chips, potato salad, baked beans, Cole slaw, macaroni and cheese and a small green salad. There’s root beer and Coke floats and ice cream. Also for dessert, there’s cookies, and a slice of pie. For children, there’s kid’s sized hot dogs and a favorite we call “Mac Puppies,” which is macaroni and cheese with cut up hot dogs and a cookie and beverage. The toppings include tomato, onion, sauer kraut, cheese and more, but there’s so many it’s almost too lengthy to list them all.

Q: Some say hot dogs are processed meat and not a healthy food choice. What quality are your meats?

A: Our dogs are a quarter-pound uncooked weight, 100 percent beef, with less than 2 percent preservatives and no fillers. We serve only the good stuff. And we have a real Chicago Dog made of yellow mustard, dill relish, sports peppers, tomato wedges, pickle spear, celery salt, all on a poppy seed bun. It’s the real thing.

Q: What has the public response been to this eclectic menu of yours?

A: (Mary Wardle) The local folks were very excited when they saw us working to get ready to open. They kept stopping by to ask us when they could eat. And since the doors were opened March 1, we’ve been very busy. We sold almost 500 hot dogs in two days. We sold two cases of chips at two hours of lunch service today. I’m tickled pink. I can’t believe it.