New owner Crystal stands with Hot Diggity Dog founders Mary and Mike Edwards
By Kathryn Ross
WELLSVILLE – After 20 years of feeding a hungry public, Mary and Mike Edwards of Whitesville are closing up their umbrella and hanging up the tongs as they serve their last wiener at Hot Diggity Dogs.
By the end of this week, the duo will be gone from the familiar setup in the parking lot at Dollar General on West Dyke Street. Their recent Facebook announcement of their retirement has garnered hundreds of responses with some customers coming from as far away as Buffalo to enjoy one last hot dog, hamburger, sausage or taco.
Mary and Mike have been in the food service business for 20 years. Most of that time has been behind the food carts they purchased in Ann Arbor, Michigan 21 years ago. They also owned and operated Mamas Smokin BBQ for 10 years splitting their time between the outdoor and the indoor venues. They sold the restaurant a couple of years ago. Now they’ve sold the Hot Diggity Dogs food carts to Crystal Button who plans on continuing the business in Wellsville and beyond.
Mike was in the construction business for many years before moving into food service. He recalled, “When I was in a construction site I would see these food cart vendors. They always seemed to be raking it in and I thought it would be something I would like to try.”
After 20 years, he said he’s found out just how much hard work goes into the business.
To see if they liked it, the Whitesville couple first set up their cart in a vacant parking space on Main Stret in front of the old Pizza Hut (now the location of the Stillwater Pizza and Grill).
“We fed the meter all day,” Mike laughed.
Finding success, they moved their outfit to the Walgreen parking lot, where they spent four years, before moving kit and kaboodle to the Dollar General site. There the site is in the direct view of the arterial and has profited from travelers coming off the highway as well as from their hundreds of regular local customers.
Mary said that they also pulled their carts to Alfred, where for several years they set up business on Church Street and fed college students from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Two of those college kids drove down from Buffalo last Friday to eat one last Hot Diggity Dogs hot dog, after they saw the retirement announcement.
“It was nice to see them again. We fed a lot of college kids over the years,” Mary said.
Showing up at other street events, catering, working birthday parties and reunions means the couple has served legions of people in the last 20 years.
The biggest changes they’ve seen in the business is the increase in the cost of supplies, the ups and downs of the economy with the closing of businesses and plants, and the opening up of many food service trucks in the area.
“They get into it and find out how much work it is. We haven’t seen many of these food trucks last much longer than a couple of years,” Mike said.
But that hasn’t stopped them from sharing their expertise and helping other food cart vendors get started.
The Edwards have also changed with the times, serving several varieties of hot dogs, hamburgers, cheeseburgers and sausages, and adding tacos, beef on weck and sloppy joes to their menu.
“You get to know what people like and what they want,” Mike said.
They have also leant their support to the community, sponsoring softball teams, fundraisers and even sponsoring cars.
After 20 years Mary and Mike look at their customers as friends and are happy to chat with them, when the lines aren’t too long.
As their days in the food carts come to a close, they have plans to stay busy with hobbies and finishing the home they built three years ago. They’re confident that Hot Diggity Dog is in good hands.
Button doesn’t plan to change anything right away and has been working with the Edwards’ to maintain the quality and service of the business.
“I’m going to keep things the same for now,” she said.
In these waning days of the summer and their food cart experience, Mike and Mary are thanking their customers and friends for 20 years of memorable experiences and friendship. “We’ll miss that,” they agreed.
Kathryn Ross is a Wellsville writer, journalist, columnist, history buff, and community activist. You can reach her anytime, kathr_2002@yahoo.com
