Steve’s Lunch, the 24/7 West Side diner at 5004 Lorain Avenue, Cleveland that serves more than 150,000 hot dogs a year, is teaming up with Reddstone to host the First Annual Hot Dog Eating Contest this weekend.
At 3pm on Sunday, visitors with a healthy appetite will have a chance to compete. Steve’s will supply the hot dogs and buns, while Reddstone will supply the location–1261 West 76th St., Cleveland. Ed Salzgeber, co-owner of Steve’s Lunch, said that Reddstone will also be supplying a “hot, hot sauce” that may cause competitors to gulp down as much water as they do hot dogs.
“We might have to mix it up with our chili sauce–just to keep people eating,” he said.
Sunday’s competition may be the first official contest Steve’s has been involved with, but the diner has hosted lots of unofficial competitions over the years.
Salzgeber said, “The daytime record for hot dogs eaten by one person is 16. It was a really big guy named Gigantor, who came in last summer.”
Salzgeber recalls how Gigantor waltzed into the diner with great fanfare, only to leave on a whimper. “He had a cheering section and ordered four, then three more, then three more,” Salzgeber reminisced, “By the time he got to 10, he was ordering one at a time. By the time he left, he had lost his bravado.”
Salzgeber wasn’t on hand to witness the nighttime record being set some years back, which was 21 hot dogs. But as he explains, he has seen enough late night munching to notice a trend.
“We cater more to night owls than professional hot dog eaters,” he said. “But drinking a lot definitely helps you step up your game.
Again, the contest is set to start at 3pm on Sunday, with participation in the competition costing $20.
