Iconic Pittsburgh Hot Dog Shop Up For Sale
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Beneath the famous mural of two Andys - Warhol and Carnegie - Wiener World continues to be what fast food used to be: hot dogs and kielbasa, right off the griddle.
Owner Ray Auslander handles ice cream duties, as fans line up at his window on Smithfield Street. He says the customers have kept him going.
It's been a great ride, it really has," the owner says. "All of the people downtown. We have great customers. We have people come in every day of the week."
Ray Jablonowski is one of those people.
"I stop here because the people are so nice," he says. "It's like going back in time 30 years ago."
Customer Marty Schiff takes a tongue-in-cheek approach.
"I'm a health nut, and I always watch what I put in my body, because it's a temple," he said
What's so different about these hot dogs? For one thing, they include a unique mix of garlic and other spices. The owner's wife, Nancy Auslander, says the business is all in the family.
"My son and my daughter both worked here, through high school and college. And now, the third generation, my grandson is working here."
Wiener World has been putting on the dog for 50 years. But now the 75-year-old owner says it's time to move on. The building is up for sale.
But Ray Auslander says he has relished every minute.
"I'm getting tired. It's time that I sort of retire and relax a little bit. Even though I am one of those people who happens to love his job."
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