Restaurant of the Week
"Over Two Million Sold"
- Wasses Hot Dogs Have Been a Mecca for Serious Hot Dog Consumers for Nearly 28 Years.
Among the noteworthy statistics for the year are the facts that the world's population topped six billion and Keith Wass's hot dog sales topped two million. That means there are a lot of satisfied hot dog consumers out there - as well as many who haven't yet had the chance to try the traditional special:
a natural casing dog, grilled with peanut oil and fried onions, placed in a steamed roll and topped with mustard and relish.That's the way Rocklanders have liked their hot dogs for three quarters of a century, Wass believes, ever since Louie's hot dog wagon presided over the corner of Orient and Main streets in Rockland's South End for 50 years, beginning in the 1920s. According to Wass, Louie had catsup on hand but stored it beneath the counter, bringing it forth only if a customer demanded it.
Today, hot dog connoisseurs from all over the country stop at Wasses hot dog wagons, which are located in Thomaston and Belfast, as well as at two locations in Rockland. Fans of his dogs are extremely devoted: Some former Rockland residents have confided that, when visiting home they often head to Wasses for a hot dog
before visiting the relatives.Keith Wass has been in the hot dog business since
1972, when he bought the wagon that still stands in the parking lot next to Rockland's Rankin block. At the time he was a psychology major at UMaine in Orono. A relative was selling the stand, and Wass bought it so he would have a job that summer. Still in the business after 28 years, Wass realizes that he was always an entrepreneur, saying "I was preparing for this kind of work and didn't even know it." He recalls that as a boy he mowed lawns, did chores for neighbors and always had a paper route. "I always kept meticulous records," he says. "One year I actually recorded every penny I earned and spent"Good record keeping is part of a successful business, but Wass feels that the real key to success lies in treating the customers the way he would like to be treated himself, with a smile that makes them feel welcome, and the best product available
- consistently.Consistency is so important to Wass that once he's found a brand that meets his standards, he won't substitute another. "It's been 28 years of Country Kitchen rolls, Pepsi, and Kirschner hot dogs." When a distributor ran out of his brand of chili recently he was preparing to drive to the company in Connecticut, if necessary, to ensure a supply. The Western dog is a specialty item now served year round.
For 15 years Wass ran the business by himself, but with expansion he had to hire more people. He now has seven employees, with more in the peak summer months. These days he only works in the stands when he's needed as a fill-in person, but he still keeps the books and sees to many other details, so he's really always at work in the business which has become a Maine institution. Or as Wass says, "One customer told me 'you haven't been to Maine until you've eaten at Moody's Diner, Dorman's Dairy Dream, and Wasses Hot Dogs."'