Copyright Joliet, IL Patch
Hey! Hot Dog has been a Joliet landmark located on Ruby Street since 1978. The original location existed on the east side on Cass Street. JOLIET, IL — The second-generation owner of Joliet's iconic Hey! Hot Dog restaurant, B.J. Uedelhofen, tells it like it is. This summer's business at 601 Ruby Street was down, big time. "All summer we were down 50 percent, and normally in the summer is when it's crazy, crazy, crazy," Uedelhofen explained. The huge decline was due to the closing of the Ruby Street Bridge for about two months, coinciding with the city's major street repairs at the busy Six Corners intersection just two blocks away from Hey! Hot Dog. Historically, June through September is the best time for business for Hey! Hot Dog, but not in 2025. "A lot of my downtown business stayed downtown or went the other direction," he remarked. "As far as the homegrown produce, it was a really, really good year again. The farm stands in Plainfield and Shorewood did great, but this one was lacking because of the traffic." Fortunately, for Hey! Hot Dog, all the nearby city of Joliet street repairs are finished, and the Ruby Street Bridge is back open. "And business is good, I'm not complaining. October has been a good month, the weather's been beautiful," Uedelhofen remarked during Monday's afternoon Joliet Patch interview. Knowing that Joliet's temperatures would drop dramatically as the week continued, the owner of Hey! Hot Dog has decided to bring back his homemade chili recipe for the regular menu. Starting Thursday and continuing "through spring," Hey! Hot Dog will be serving up its "delicious homemade chili," as its advertising sign proclaims. "It Always Brings People In, Always When You Change Up The Menu" Uedelhofen said his homemade chili consists of black beans, big chunks of tomato, bell peppers, ground hamburger, onions along with sour cream and cheddar cheese for the toppings. He can also add a jalapeno pepper to the chili for those customers desiring a fiery taste. "If you want it spicier, we've got a pickled jalapeno," he said. Including the taxes, the Hey! Hot Dog chili sells for $6.95 and comes in 16-ounce cups. "It always brings people in, always when you change up the menu, with the Italian sausage or the chili," he explained. "Wintertime is always slower." As for the chili, Uedelhofen isn't afraid to brag. "It is a good chili. We've been making it for years, since the early 1980s. When I make a batch up, it's good for two days. The chili, hopefully, we will be selling every day, but there will be days that we run out. Bowls of chili with fresh-graded cheddar cheese and sour cream and crackers. End of October through February." In addition to rolling out the chili on Thursday, Hey! Hot Dog will bring back its Italian sausage, which is only sold during the fall and winter months. Unlike the chili, the Italian sausage won't be on the daily menu. Uedelhofen said the Italian sausage, served on a Milano Bakery bun, will be sold Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays for $5.95 including the tax. Hey! Hot Dog is open Monday through Saturdays, closed on Sundays. Uedelhofen also wanted customers to know that his son's fresh, homemade popcorn will be available for purchase at the store starting in November. Hey! Hot Dog also offers gift certificates in $10 increments that a lot of customers like to give out as Christmas presents. Even though the restaurant has been a mainstay on Ruby Street since 1978, a lot of people tend to forget that Hey! Hot Dog remains open year-round, according to Uedelhofen. And since 2020, Hey! Hot Dog has transitioned into a drive-up service. Customers can still sit outside and eat meals and drink their root beer mugs from one of the many, orange-painted park benches, but there is no longer any counter service inside the restaurant. "It's been overwhelmingly popular. Everybody seems to be liking it, and everyone seems to have figured it out," Uedelhofen said. "And since we've been doing the drive ups, a lot of older customers like it especially when there's snow and ice."
