All language subtitles for Hot.Dougs.the.Movie English

[bell dinging]

[rock music]

- [Male] What's going on Doug?

- Not so much, how
'bout yourself?

- [Male] Sorry about that,
I had to get all this done.

- No problem.

I always think

to get one of
those bill counters

but then I thought it'd
be too much like Scarface.

I don't know if I could
pull off the accent.

We're all set, thank you sir.

Going to, last Sunday,
going to the art institute

to see the Magritte show

and then later that night going
to Steppenwolf to see a play

meanwhile stopping having
a late tapas lunch.

It's like you can't
do that in Fargo.

And it's one of the reasons,

one of the things I
love about Chicago

and sports,

real, for the most part
major league sports teams.

There's usually at
least one of the five

that are doing well
at any one time.

[upbeat music]

The real intention of
opening up the restaurant,

one was to make a
better Chicago hot dog.

When it's done well,

I think it's truly one
of the great sandwiches.

What I found in going to so
many different hot dog stands

was rarely was it done well.

Most hot dog stands were
now selling pizza puffs

and chicken breast
sandwiches and burgers

and so the hot dog sort
of slid down the menu.

And if you're gonna do that,

if you're not gonna
sell a lot of hot dogs

the only way to
make money on them

is to use cheaper ingredients

including you can
buy bad hot dogs,

you can buy bad mustard,

you can not do it properly.

So I wanted to
restore the reputation

of the Chicago hot dog

and to have a place
where you could get

all the different kinds
of sausages available.

So that was really the impetus
for opening Hot Doug's.

[upbeat music]

- My friend Marco Silva,

who worked with me at Charlie
Trotter's back in the day,

he said, "Have you
heard of this guy

"doing moose and armadillo
and all this stuff?"

I'm like what, who's doing that?

Even at a high end restaurant,
that would be out there.

But he's charging
six bucks for this

and Marco's like no
I got to go there.

So I wait a year and
I went there with him

and immediately my mind was
blown, I couldn't believe it.

It was easily the most
delicious bun experience

I've ever had.

It took it to a new level.

I wasn't even into
hot dogs until then.

Hot dogs you think of as like
oh you shouldn't eat that,

that's bad for you

but then you go
into Doug's place

and he's got red wine braised

I don't know some
crazy French meat

with foie gras and all this

and I'm like wow,
this is gourmet,

this is inspiring.

- Hot Doug's was the first

decent eating in
this neighborhood.

Someone who'd never
had duck for example,

is now eating duck with
sauternes and foie gras.

What an amazing way to
wake up the palettes

of an entire city.

That so many people
who are chefs

or restaurateurs or
whatever in Chicago,

so many of those people

would rate Hot Doug's

as one of the best dining
experiences in Chicago.

Game knows game, they can tell.

- I used to go there
with Graham Elliot Bowls.

A lot of chefs go
there with other chefs

because it's like
a religious right,

going to Mecca for hot
dogs and it's right here.

You don't have to travel
far, easy to get to.

There's a Mecca for
each style of cuisine.

For Japanese, I could
say it's hero in Japan.

For French it would
be Paul Bocuse.

Everybody has to cook
at the Beard House

and if you don't
go to Hot Doug's

you missed the quintessential
forced meat experience,

that's what you've
missed out on.

[upbeat music]

- [Doug] It's mostly the game of

trying to leave letters
I want still up there.

Your restaurant is only as good

as the employees in it.

That's your best asset.

When you cease
caring about them,

then you got problems

and what I would notice

is that those employees
were there for awhile.

Some of those guys
were there for years.

You don't work in
any hot dog joint.

You're working in a
fast food restaurant

and there's dedication
with these guys.

If you're a nice guy
to your customers,

you should be as
nice to your staff

and I think Doug really
exemplified that.

You could tell by the
way he talked to 'em,

by the way they listened.

They just tried to do a
better and better job.

If you're always
replacing people,

if they're always
coming and going,

it's very difficult to
maintain any consistency.

And so consistency is key

with what Doug was doing.

If you order a char dog,

whether it's got Camembert
cheese or whatever it is on it,

it's got to have that same char.

You have to have one
guy that does that.

- My job over here is
I make all the sauces,

I make the sauces

and I prepare some
stuff, some extra stuff.

He has his own recipes.

So he told me how
I have to do it

and he has to taste,

he taste every sauce that I make

and he has to approve
if it's good or not.

- That's awesome.

- Just like that?

- Just like that.

- Okay sir.

- Yeah 'cause I'm
just trying to think.

Honestly if you want to
add a little more beer.

- [Lalo] One more?

- Yeah.

- One more beer?
- As long as it doesn't

get too thin,

that's all I care about
now is the consistency.

A little bit more
beer will be great.

- Okay sir, let's get one more.

- [Doug] Thank you sir.

- So [speaking in
foreign language] .

There's like five of them.

When we're out of those,

we switch to the Iberico.

- The cooks have been
with me not quite day one

but all four hired

within the first year and a
half to two years of opening

and have stayed
with me since then

which is rare in this business.

I'm incredibly grateful

and as much as the kudos

that I get for
running the restaurant

none of it happens without them.

It allows me to focus
on the customer,

it allows me to
focus on the menu.

It allows me to do the
things that I need to do

to make it successful.

I don't have to worry

about what's going on behind me.

I know those guys have it down.

It sometimes
catches me off guard

how much they know what's
going on front of the house.

They know the regulars now,

how crazy Saturdays
are versus other days

and are prepared for that.

They have been in
order of hiring,

Octavio, Carlos, Lalo and
Benjamin have been awesome.

- I started eating at Hot Doug's

in the first year
that it opened.

Back then I ran a magazine
called Punk Planet Magazine

and we were working on an issue

that was entirely about Chicago.

It was our 50th issue

and we decided to do a theme

about the place we were.

And I was actually driving back

from another interview up Roscoe

and saw Doug's and was like,

that looks like a cool place.

I'm gonna stop in, I'm
hungry, grab something to eat.

And I walked in and the
Buzzcocks were playing

and Doug was Doug

and I called up my
wife and was like,

I'm gonna be late
'cause I've got to do an
interview

with this guy for the issue.

[upbeat music]

- Thank you.

Wow, this is exciting.

Hello, hello.

- Good morning.
- Are you Doug?

- Are you a cop?
- Can I shake your hand?

- You can shake my hand.

- I've never been here before.

- What's up with that?

I've been standing here for
14 years waiting for you.

Ah, it's alright,
we'll let you slide.

All set for me?

- Yes.

I think I'll have the foie gras.

- [Doug] You got it.

- The smoked--

- You know you really
don't have to point.
I know where they are,

I put them there myself,
that's the alligator.

Right off the bat.

Make it count.

- Bowl of--
- Bowl of chili, nice.

- I got a lot of good
recommendations about that.
- [Doug] Absolutely.

- I got to get the
duck fat fries.

- [Doug] Yes you do.

- I was treated just the same

as all of the other customers.

That's the one thing
that I loved about it.

Graham Elliot would get
the same treatment

that the guy that only
had five bucks would get.

The same customized,
that's the importance

of having Doug there every
day, customer service.

- The Andouille sausage, is
that the hottest one you got?

- [Doug] No, the atomic
bomb is the hottest.

- Okay I'll stay with
the Andouille sausage.

- [Doug] We recommend
dark mustard,

caramelized onion, pickle.

- Done, got to learn
if from the man.

- [Doug] There we go, now
I got to go get a man.

For here or to go?

- Oh that's for here.

- [Doug] Do you want me
to wrap up the vegetarian?

- Yes please.

- [Doug] Got it, no problem.

Anything to drink for you?
- And then we might have to--

- [Doug] You know what,
you got here at five
o'clock in the morning,

I'll buy you a drink.
- No, get out of here,
I have a water bottle.

- [Doug] You can do that too.

That's everything?

- Yeah.

- [Doug] And your first name?
- Kip, K-I-P.

- [Doug] You got it, my friend.

$59.50 Kip.

- [Kip] Yes, I brought
just enough cash.

- [Doug] Yeah we
have a hood system

that could still use a cleaning.

We would've worked
something out, no problem.

- That's right, that's right.

- Help yourselves to waters,

please have a seat,
we'll bring it out
in just a little bit.

Thanks so much, appreciate it.

You can't beat places on price,

you can't beat places
on convenience,

you can't beat places on speed

but you can treat people better.

The only way for a small
independent business

to compete against a franchise
or a big time restaurant

or any retail establishment
is customer service.

I understand.

What are you gonna do?

- [Male] It's Hollywood.

- Exactly.

Was it touch and go
there prior to now?

- Yeah it was a
little touch and go.

- [Doug] Alright fair enough.

You were tired, tired.

I've been standing
here for 14 years,

I got your tired, I win.

I just like that part.

Pretty soon I think
it's just gonna be that,

no actual fist bump, just
a little bit of that.

- French fries?

- [Doug] No, oh is
that what that is?
Oh I did not know that.

I'm gonna miss the learning.

What'll it be?

87.

80, 20, 40, 60, thank you guys.

Thank you so much for waiting.

We genuinely appreciate it.

Lamb, shrimp please.

- I think one of the most
powerful and compelling

things about this place is
just the vibe, the atmosphere,

the fact that when
you order your food,

you're talking to Doug,

you're talking to hot Doug.

- How are you today?

- Hi.

Can I get a wild boar sausage?

- What'll it be?

- Alright, so I'm gonna do
a regular Chicago style dog.

- How are you today?

- [Male] Good, how are you?

- Not so bad, thank
you for asking.

What will it be?

- The apple and
cinnamon, the foie gras,

the Castanet, and the escargot

and then two orders
of the duck fries

and extra cheese yeah.

- [Doug] And for you?

- You can't take
everything so seriously

and that's what he
was really good at.

The Britney Spears on the
walls and the Elvis thing

and you're listening
to Whitney Houston.

It's just fun.

Everything makes sense
and it works right.

It just gets more
extreme, extreme Doug

and I think that's
what makes it,

it's his restaurant.

There's nothing else like that.

[upbeat music]

- He takes every order,

he controls the system

knowing how much food goes out.

There's a lot of
reasons why he does it

but I think he himself
and his personality.

He talks with people,

he makes them feel important.

It's just the music,

it's the environment,

it's the personality.

I think it's
lightning in a bottle.

[upbeat music]

- It is really cool to see

how excited people
get for a restaurant.

Like they've been
waiting for hours

and then they come in and
I'll bring out the order

and several times
throughout the day

people will cheer
when I say their name

and they're so excited to
get some fries and hot dogs.

- [Male] A salute.

- [Steve] Y mas, alright, I
have pepitas con queso uno y dos

because it makes
it sound fancier.

I've got a veal.

- [Male] Yeah veal.

- [Steve] Then I've got a--

- You would get
somebody just coming out

and describing your
hot dog, a food runner.

Oh this is your hot dog
with this and this and this

and I'm going, damn I just
feel like I just dined at L2O.

Somebody just gave me a
description of a gourmet dish.

I think that's great.

And that all stems from Doug.

- [Steve] Duck fries

there's the Chicago
dog, the veal, the tubin

and the foie gras, extra fry.

- He said can we do
some different sausages?

I go we can try.

I think we started
with the atomic bomb.

I'm sure that was one
of our very first ones.

We just gave it a shot,

we went crazy with it.

We started putting real peppers,

not dehydrated stuff.

And it took off like a
rocket and we got crazy

and from fruits to
certain herbs and spices

and vegetables, peppers

and a lot of fun, lot
of creativity there.

- The thing is Doug
is so reliable,

it wouldn't be on the menu

if it wasn't delicious.

So you could literally
just stick a pen in the map

and then whatever you ended
up with is gonna be great.

- What'll it be?

- Can I have cheese
port sausage?

- The velveeta.

- [Doug] Got it.

- The lamb and pork belly.

- [Doug] Got it.

- Port cheese.

- I want the foie gras.

- [Doug] You got it.

- Two duck fries.

- Three orders of
the duck fries.

- [Doug] You got it.

[sizzling]

- My favorites on the menu,

definitely the
atomic bomb sausage.

I love the ribeye steak sausage,

the whisky sausage.

The sausage chili is awesome.

I will probably come
back for that today.

- I like the atomic
sausage so much

because that has really
good flavor and it's spicy.

- You cannot get
a better hot dog

than just a grill
dog or a char dog

with everything from Doug's.

It's like the purest expression
of the Chicago hot dog.

[upbeat music]

It runs as an expression
of Doug's interaction

with his clientele.

It's not a pure business

in that it's not just
taking over to make money.

There's a misperception
about entrepreneurs,

people that run businesses.

We start and run businesses

because this is how we
want to live our lives,

this is what we want to do.

Earning money doing
it is a necessary part

of the whole enterprise

and if you end up doing some
transactions for nothing,

if you end up doing some
things for people for nothing,

the fact that you
get to keep doing it,

that's more important
than the fact

that you didn't get paid.

- He had every opportunity
to open second locations,

to franchise, to sell

and he didn't want that.

And that's so counter
to how we define success

in this country,

that success means
constantly growing

and constantly reaching

for the biggest part
of the pie possible.

And that's a really terrible
way to define success

because you should be able
to do something you love

at the scale that
you love to do it,

not at the scale that's
financially maximum.

But instead just, that's what
he loved to do for a long time

was greet people
and make fun of 'em

and call 'em his
friend and all of that.

And you can't do that

if there's seven Hot
Doug's locations.

- How are you today?

- [Female] Good.

- Alright, what
can we get for you?

- [Female] Well I'm gonna
do that celebrity sausage.

- This is not the worst
idea I've ever heard.

- [Female] Game of the week.

- Oh wait, not the
celebrity sausage, oh boy,

boy man, choking at the
line of scrimmage here.

I know.

So the rattlesnake you got it.
- [Female] Yeah the
rattlesnake and the veal.

- You got it.

- [Female] And the thai thing.

- You got it.
- But the thai to go, right?

- [Female] Thai to
go, could I do that?

- Seriously if you didn't travel

with your own Greek chorus,

you'd be totally screwed.

Wow for someone who just
really wanted a hot dog,

you're taking an
awful lot of abuse

but you know that's
the way it goes.

Thank you so much.

Help yourself to the
drink, it's free refills.

If someone wants to go show
her how the machine works,

the cup and the whole deal.

- Good morning, guys,

I'm really more talking
to half of this building

'cause the time frame
changes at the end.

First and foremost,

thank you so much for
coming to Hot Doug's.

We absolutely appreciate it.

Full disclosure,

where you guys are standing,

beginning of this building
to the middle of it,

see that crease in it,

we're talking about three to
three hours and 45 minutes

is your wait time
still, just a heads up.

I can see it two ways,

if you've never been here

and you're not a foodie
and you're just like,

uh, the phrase it's
just a hot dog,

I can see why people think that.

Of course, you can
drive by and be like,

oh my God, those people
standing for eight hours

is so stupid.

But the truth is people
love different things.

And you can stand
for concert tickets

or you can stand in
line for an iPhone

if you're like oh, I've got
to have the newest technology

and that makes sense to you.

- I think it's incredibly
humbling, flattering,

I think it's just crazy though.

I so don't get it

because I know he
and I will not,

we will not wait
in line for food

and being in the food
business myself it's like wow.

So I find it, I
just find it crazy.

[bell ringing]

- We get bands from
all over the world

coming to our studio.

We get bands from Japan,

from Scandinavia,
from South America,

from Australia, China.

It's hard to think of a place

where they have people

that we haven't had those
people come to our studio.

And number one
thing on their list

is we have to make a record.

Number two is while we're here

we have to go eat at Hot Doug's.

- We first went to Hot Doug's

when he was over on--

- Roscoe.

- Roscoe because she lived
around the corner on Damen

and that was in 2000?

- Late 2001.

- Yeah and so we've been coming
to Hot Doug's ever since.

And we live in Ohio

and we drove over last
night just to come today.

- We got here about seven
o'clock this morning.

- [Male] Been here before?

- No, first time.

- First time I came here,

I want to say about,

not too long after,

I would say five years maybe.

I didn't know much
about Hot Doug's.

- I got to get in
on the craziness.

So yes, crazy but I
want to be a part of it.

- I've never had a
foie gras hot dog

all the times that
I've been here.

So I took a personal
day from work

to come pay Doug a last visit.

So I'm gonna have the
foie gras, the escargot

and I'm not sure
about my other two.

But I'm planning on having four.

I don't know if I'm gonna
be able to finish four

but I'm definitely gonna try.

- So far everyone's nice,
there's no violence.

Some people are drinking beer.

- Why would there be violence?

- I don't know 'cause they've
been waiting for too long.

- Doug for life!

- Doug for life.

- Doug life, Doug life.

- You know why we're doing this,
we're doing this for the D.

[upbeat music]

- Over the years,

the line has been very
long at Hot Doug's,

hour, hour and a half

and I would always joke

like wait till a day it
finally reaches my house

which is like seven houses
down, half the block.

And I'm like that
day's never gonna come

until one morning two
weeks ago actually

I was getting ready for work

and fixing my shirt

and I'm right out here
checking the mirror

and I'm like my hair
looks a little messed up,

should I fix it?

Nah, there's not gonna be
too many people out there.

And I turn around and
look out the window

and there's people lined up

and it finally reached my house

and that's when this is it,

this is the place to be

and I'm working at
the place to be.

[pipe music]

- We're on kind of a short clock

so two day shipping on hot dog
hats seemed like a reasonable

and they've been a great
hit with the line so far.

- We are allowed
to fax in an order.

I'm charmed by the notion
that it is fax by the way.

I think that that's indicative

of how long our
relationship has survived

that we're still
sending orders by fax.

And I don't know anybody else

that gets that kind of
treatment from Doug's.

Everybody else has
to stand in line.

I feel a measure
of guilt about that

because I know that
standing in line by itself

is part of the experience.

Whenever I stand in line there,

I feel rewarded by the sort
of sense of camaraderie

about the other
people around you,

you get to know them a little,

you overhear their
conversations,

maybe you join in.

It's a genuinely social thing.

[drumming]

- Has anyone ever
seen Doug walk?

- Has he ever left this place?

- Does he exist below the torso?

Is he a machine?

- Is he Superman or Super Doug?

- I think he has robot legs.

We've never seen him
from behind the counter.

- He's there after
they shut down,

12 o'clock at night, he's there.

They just turn him off.

- The thing about fandom

is that it becomes an
engine unto itself.

As soon as people start
lining up for a thing

somebody else gets
in line behind it

because they're like
well if you're lining up,

and then it just grows
and grows and grows

and you started having
TV shows highlighting it.

I remember when the Anthony
Bourdain thing happened

and suddenly that's
when weekends were out.

- [Male] Prologue to
what is for any carnivore

the ultimate [bleep]
reducing item on the menu,

- Come to daddy,

- [Male] The foie gras dog.

- The real change
to the restaurant,

there were a few
moments in the timeline.

The first one was about a
year and a half into it,

so the summer of 2002.

Pat Bruno, the late Pat Bruno,

who was the food critic
for the Chicago Sun Times

I think every other
year would print a list

and write and article about
hot dog stands in Chicago.

And that summer, we
were picked as the best

totally out of the blue.

And it was the
first time I also,

the experience of
something happening

and instantaneously people
showing up at the restaurant.

There's no, oh that looks cool,

maybe I'll get to that place.

No, it was the next day.

And it was the only time

that we, the food section
came out on Friday.

Saturday we ended up
closing a couple hours early

'cause we simply
ran out of food.

Incredibly unprepared
for this event.

The two major events after
that that changed things,

we were on Check, Please

which is the local restaurant
show on PBS featured us.

At least that time I
was prepared for it.

And business increased
four fold instantaneously.

About a year or two later,

we were featured on two programs

that came out roughly
at the same time,

Food Paradise on
the Travel Channel

did an episode about hot dogs.

We were featured

and Anthony Bourdain's
No Reservations

which literally changed
things globally.

We are now huge in Brazil
for some weird reason.

Not a day goes by

where someone from South America

and all over South America
is at the restaurant.

- Three of my employees
got Hot Doug's tattoos.

One of them comes in,
he's got this hot dog.

I'm like, you really did that.

[laughing]

- My mom just didn't
understand at that point.

She was like why would you
get a hot dog on your arm?

And I was like mom,
it's Hot Doug's.

The next day I went to Hot
Doug's and showed it to him

and his reaction was
actually pretty funny.

His face got really red

'cause I was the first one

so I don't think he would've
ever expected it at that point.

So his face got really
red and he was like,

"Alex, that's the most
flattering/creepiest

I've ever seen in my life."

And then he was
like, "You're done,

you never have to pay again."

And I was like, wow, let's go.

I have three people who I've met

that have the Hot Doug's tattoo.

I haven't met the chick

with the Hot Doug's tattoo
on her vagina yet though.

- The location is sensitive.

It's not on my buttocks.

People ask why not

and it's because there's
already a tattoo there

I don't want to take away from

so it is in that very sensitive
front area of the lady.

I first told my mom I think

and just put it on Facebook

and it's edited to be modest

but yeah I had a huge
explosion of people

once the word got out,
they're like you're crazy

and it was like, was
it really worth it?

It's just a hot dog.

And it's not just a
hot dog, obviously.

But yeah it was a
big mixed reaction

of like you're nuts
and that's funny

and what's gonna
happen when they close

and stuff like that.

Doug's not gonna
be around forever.

And it was like
well, say la vie.

You don't miss out on things

just because it's not
gonna be there forever.

[upbeat music]

- I don't know, I think that's,

it's such a cool idea

'cause there's always people
that already have tattoos.

There's like one or two people

that only have the
Hot Doug's tattoo.

And so it's like

when someone's building a sleeve

or a leg piece or whatever

and then they're adding
to their personal story,

it's cool that Hot Doug's
can be a part of that.

It's cool to see people

that like personalize
it a little bit.

They make it something that
also means something to them,

they combine these stories.

I think that's neat.

- I think it's hysterical.

That part I find very funny.

So the lines, crazy,
the tattoos, funny.

[sad music]

- It was just a regular day,

it was a regular Monday

and we were just closing up.

- He pulled us aside
after work one day,

I think it was maybe in April.

We just got introduced
to the new guy

and I was thinking to myself,

wow, we've got a whole
nother run with this new guy.

So I was getting ready for
another year of Hot Doug's.

- And Doug was just,

I was on the last table

and Doug was like can you leave
a couple of tables set up?

- And both me and
Alex were like,

oh God, we're getting fired.

Oh God, everyone's being let
go or something terrible.

- And I'm thinking oh man,

and he said it pretty seriously,

if someone's getting
fired, I don't know.

- And he sat us all down

and he just kind of
told us, he was like,

I wanted to let you know first.

- I'm sorry, guys.

- And so we're all sitting there

and he can't look us in the eye

and he says, "Man, I don't
know how to say this,

"I'm closing down
the restaurant."

And when he said that,

it was very, very heavy for me

and I was like, is this a joke?

Maybe something happened

but he just kept
going and saying like,

I feel it's time.

- I think we all
felt bad for Steve

because he had just started.

- It was really interesting

'cause I'd only been
working here a month

or a month and a
half or whatever

and it was really interesting,

the cooks all got together
and had a serious discussion

about what to do or what they
were gonna do or whatever.

- It was really nice

that everyone just
decided to stay.

No one went, oh no, we're
getting out while we still can.

Everyone was just like

yeah we'll ride this
out for five months.

- I just felt that it was time.

This has been an
extraordinary run.

The opportunity to
close it because I can

not because I have to is rare,

retail certainly very rare
in the restaurant business.

There's an aspect of going
out when things are going well

is appealing.

It's kind of cool to
be able to do that.

It's been an extraordinary run

is sort of the thing that
I keep thinking about,

kind of how this started

and then getting to this point.

It's you don't
want to say surreal

'cause it isn't that, it is real

but it is, it's
pretty remarkable,

is the thing that
keeps striking me.

I'm still sort of
consistently surprised

by the whole course of events.

And it's an unbelievably
cool feeling

more than anything else.

It's unbelievably cool.

I'm gonna have my omelet.

Yeah.

Yeah see that's
the face I wanted.

That's what I've been
waiting for, exactly.

I don't ask for much,

it's like you sure you
don't want a sausage?

- Okay, let's go get more coffee

for the crazies out there.

- Yeah I was the first
customer on the last day.

They told me I couldn't get
in line for Friday until four.

So I stayed in line for Thursday

and I went through and
I ate at about three

and then I hung out
and got in line at four

and then I was here all night.

My wife thought I was joking

and then the day
before I was like,

okay so you know I am
not gonna be here all day

for the next two days?

And she thought I was joking

so she was pretty surprised

but she was cool with it.

- You're welcome,
you guys, thank you.

That's awesome.

- [Male] Tell Doug I say thanks.

- I will, I will,
you're welcome.

Donuts, donuts.

We'll give you cups and cream.

- Thank God for Doug.

Thank you, Doug.

[upbeat music]

- Thank you, thank you.

- [Crowd] Doug, Doug,
Doug, Doug, Doug!

- You're making Barbara cry.

We're out of everything, sorry.

Sorry, The Honey Butter

is gonna be open
in a couple hours.

You can bring me back a sec.

Well as long as you're here.

- Well, I think you
still have the Barbara?

- [Doug] Alright no problem.

- And I think I'll
get the Hungarian and

the Jack Daniel's.

- You got it.

Regular fries or duck fries?

- [Male] Duck.

- Yeah that's right.

For here?

Help yourself to a
cocktail, thank you.

[slow music]

[upbeat music]

- The dogs were amazing.

I can remember
there were moments

where I had one and
it was a revelation.

I can remember almost every
conversation I've had with Doug,

when I came to order,

when I brought family or
the jokes he made about me

to my folks or to in-laws.

I can remember all that.

That's what I'm gonna miss.

I'm gonna miss feeling
like there's a place,

that's something that I'll miss.

[upbeat music]

- There's a line of eight
hours worth of people

trying to get in here

and people are climbing
through the ceiling tiles

to have lunch here

and I sort of forget
how cool it is to

oh work at Hot Doug's.

It's a super intimate
place to work.

In the kitchen,

there's five guys that
work super close together

and my coworkers are fun.

So of course it's gonna
be hard to not miss.

[upbeat music]

You've got one more day.

There's no more slaw in a dog.

There's no more gourmet
this or gourmet that.

And part of it is
a lot of the people

that have been waiting in
line for these long hours

are repeat customers.

They've done it once
and they love it

and they don't mind now
waiting five, six hours

and they believe that
there's value in coming here.

I think he deserves
the long lines.

I think he's created something
that's pretty magical.

- What do you got for me?

Hold it in.

The main part that I'll miss

is the interaction
with the customers

which is the part
I like the most.

The stories, the chit chatting

and in these 30 second,
90 second bursts,

I'll miss, there are customers,

all we do is talk
about the Chicago Cubs,

other customers talk music,
politics, art, travel,

whatever's been going
on in people's lives.

There are people who,

kids who I couldn't
see over the counter

who are now telling me yeah
I start college next week.

The friends I've made, the
purveyors, most of them,

has been great.

We become friends with
people who I've worked

and who I've been
in business with.

Certainly the staff,

that kind of
familiarity with them.

The routine of it is I'm
sure something I'll miss.

I've been doing
this for a long time

and being on that
schedule for a long time.

I'll miss that.

- I was just offered a sausage

but I think it would've been
blasphemous for me to take it,

waiting all this time
to have one in the line.

I don't know.

I'm starving but I feel like
that defeats the purpose.

I'm very appreciative though.

You could make a lot of
money off that sausage.

Oh man.

I'm just cold, I want
to go inside and eat.

That's all I want.

Only my second time
here, I'm from the burbs.

Just happened to be in the
right place at the right time,

on the other side of the sign.

What's his name, Steve,
hooked me up with this jacket,

very nice of him.

Michael let me stand on the
other side of that sign.

Alex sent the jacket my way.

Marco gave me a seat to sit on.

So that was cool,

everyone's been very
accommodating today.

So very nice, very
friendly people.

Make the wait not so
bad, coffee, donuts,

[car horn honking]

that guy.

[car horn honking]

Him too.

- I think it's
incredibly generous

the way he announced his
retirement from Hot Doug's

well in advance

giving everybody the world over

that wanted to make
pilgrimage the opportunity.

I think that was an incredibly
generous thing he did.

A cynical person might
think that he did that

to drum up a bunch of business

so that he could
go out with a bang.

But if you consider the hours
that they have to put in

to accommodate the people
that have come to see them

in their last months

and you consider the
consistent, unmatched quality

of the product
that they put out,

you can tell that it's just
that he wants to do it one way.

- One thing that has changed
drastically over the years

is people's willingness
to try new things.

The result of Food Channel,
the result of travel,

the result of Chicago
becoming a dining destination

and people trying new things.

Customers are much more willing,

much more open to
different stuff.

Could we do it again
and be successful?

Possibly.

The next person can do that.

There he is.

[cheering]

I'd like to point out

these guys are on
the clock by the way.

[cheering]

What are you having?

- Alright man, I'm gonna
start off with the wild boar.

- Got it.

- Then I'm gonna do
the Jack Daniel's,

three Chicagos.

- Trust a grill dog.

- I trust you.

- There's a mistake.

- I'll do two of the veg.

- Got it.

- Duck fat fries.

- [Doug] You got it.

- And a corn dog.

- $38.50 please.

- You guys take debit?

- [Doug] Thank you, my friend.

Grab a drink, grab a seat,
we'll bring it right out.

- He's very nice
person with us and

I enjoyed to work with him

because I learn a lot
of things about him.

He give us the opportunity
to learn all the different

person over here.

I would say thanks to Doug

for all that he made for us.

- [Barbara] Congratulations.

- Thank you very much.

Salud, senor.

[slow music]

It's time for a cerveza.

[slow music]

- It's silly to say people
really love this hot dog stand.

It's silly to make
a movie about it.

It's super silly to line
up for 12 hours to do it

but that's how it works.

If fandom was logical,

it wouldn't work
the way it works.

When we really love things,

we do all kinds of stupid.

And we can't really explain
why we do those things

except that it's to
be part of a community

and yeah it was a community
around a hot dog stand

but it was a damn good
hot dog stand so why not?

[upbeat music]

♪ Hot Doug's

♪ Hot Doug's

♪ Hot Doug's

♪ I want to eat at Hot Doug's

♪ I want to eat at Hot Doug's

♪ I want to eat at Hot Doug's

♪ I want to eat at Hot Doug's

♪ Alright

[upbeat music]

♪ Doug's it up

♪ Doug's it up

♪ Doug's it up

♪ Doug's it up