Gary Willet, photo by Chip Scheuer.
Retired winegrower Gary Willet started serving hot dogs in the Westside’s U-Save Liquors parking lot on weekdays and in between Vino Tabi Winery and Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing on the weekends. Five years ago, he got a sidekick, a cocker spaniel named Snappy, who likes begging for hot dogs and playing fetch with a hot-dog-shaped chew toy. Willet keeps a huge condiment selection, sells six kinds of links and offers each hot dog with a choice of sauerkraut or his homemade chili.
SCW: When was your first hot dog?
GARY WILLET: I couldn’t have been more than two and a half, if that. My grandfather had a butcher wagon out of Auburn. I remember eating, as a little kid, an uncooked hot dog on my grandfather’s meat wagon. And I liked them ever since.
Why a liquor store parking lot?
I went in there to sell wine. He liked the wine, but it was too expensive and I had these hot dog carts, so I jokingly said ‘what you really need out there is a hot dog cart,’ and he jumped all over it.
How do you feel about burgers?
Great. I love Betty Burgers. I’ve always been a hot dog man. I love forced meats. They’re a good thing. I always dreamed of having a hot dog cart on the beach. I’m close, anyway.
What are forced meats?
That’s what the French call it. You create a blend of sausage meats, grind it up and force it in a casing.
Why is the casing important?
This meat is all-beef, and it’s in a lamb casing, and it swells up when you heat it. When you bite it, it snaps. Most hot dogs these days get a bum wrap without any [authentic] casing.
Where do you get your hot dogs?
I have them made by a German family in Sacramento. It’s pretty much a personal design.
Do a lot of friends come by?
Yeah I’ve met a few people. I’m retired—this is what I do. I’m out here six days a week.
Sounds like a high-commitment retirement.
Yeah, it is, but it started out with just wanting to see where the hot spots were. It’s a fun way to retire I’m having fun with it.
