Hotdogs (Kingsport, Elizabethton, Sharon: school, restaurants, cost)

[Tnhoneypot]

In Elizabethton, there's a hotdog joint called Sammons, that I have been dying to try, but never got the chance to. They featured them on Daytime Tr-Cities morning show with Amy Lynn & Morgan. The owner claimed to be the first real fast-food resteraunt in the area back in the 50's.
So, tell me have you ever eaten their hotdogs and are they really good? Is their chili good? He makes it homemade daily, he said. Noticed there were another Sammons out by the Mayflower seafood restraunt.

[rccrain]

Never been to Sammons, but if you want an immaculate hot dog Chicago RedHots is the place.

Anyone know when Blue Circle opened? I had always figured it was the first FF restaurant in the area. But there are so many others that have gone by the wayside.

[jabogitlu]

I've eaten at Sammons many times. The chili is made by a company using the Sammons' recipe and is shipped into the two restaurants. I'm not sure if they were the first fast food restaurant here or not, but to me it doesn't really matter. Denise Sammons and her father are psychotic, extreme right-wing nutsos who put their employees through hell. I'll NEVER eat there again and I try to dissuade as many people as I can from doing so.

There's a lot of stories I could tell you. If you're interested, we can DM.

[Ted Bear]

What can anyone tell me about Pal's? Safe to ingest, or best left alone?

How did the concept of a 'closed' building get started with them? It is sort of like a 'mystery' .... and not a great thing where food is concerned.

[jchometeam]

Im assuming it is cost effectiveness, in which case it is very smart. Very little overhead (no bathrooms to maintain, no tables to clean, no large building), and the people generally love it due to its fast service. If you are paranoid about the safety of the food simply because it does not have a dine in, you probably shouldn't eat there or any other fast food.

As far as Sammons goes, people can certainly boycott whatever places they want and treating your employees like hell is not good business, but I have no idea where the owner being a "right wing nutso" has anything to do with the food. And if the employees are treated like hell, they should quit. Very simple concept really

[jabogitlu]

I said "extreme" right wing. And sometimes any job is better than no job... especially in an economy like this. Happy to say that my significant other has moved on to greener pastures, but there are many, many former employees that can share stories about the Sammons family.

[rccrain]

Originally Posted by Ted Bear

What can anyone tell me about Pal's? Safe to ingest, or best left alone?

How did the concept of a 'closed' building get started with them? It is sort of like a 'mystery' .... and not a great thing where food is concerned.

Pal's is a staple of our local fast food eateries. It is one of the most efficient, cleanest, committed to excellence fast food restaurants I've seen. It routinely receives industry awards and posts consistently good safety scores. I guess without customers coming in it's a much more controlled environment. They do something right because most of their stores have to do 500K to 1M per year.

Pal's is a great grad-school case study.

[mbmouse]

Pal's is supper clean and has a system that is done the same way every day for every customer. Pal Barger and his wife Sharon are huge supporters of the area and from my understanding great people to work for. Pal's is more of an institution in this region. I LOVE pals' Peachy tea!

[Tnhoneypot]

Thanks jabogitlu for the background on the Sammon's family, but....Are their hotdogs good?

rrcrain... I would definitely try them out, but when I told hubby what the condiments were on the famous Chicago dawgs, he almost turned green

Oh, and I love Pals. Hey, I betcha they make a good dawg too! I always get a Pal burger w/cheese when I go, along with their delicious sweet tea.

[mbmouse]

If you are looking for good hot dogs, have you tried T.K.'s on Broad St in downtown Kingsport? They have very good dogs...for hot dogs..... that I don't particularly care for in general, but a lot of people rave about T.K's.