By Juliana Hoft
Staff Writer
Hotdoggers is a new California “beach barbecue” on Sepulveda Boulevard in Manhattan Beach. It sells everything from hotdogs, hamburgers and sandwiches to salads and soups.
“What I wanted to duplicate in my restaurant was a beach styled hotdog stand that you might find in Manhattan Beach’s downtown El Porto restaurant scene,” owner, Sandy Saemann said.
Saemann created an ideal place for surfers, skaters and anybody young at heart. The restaurant will be opening in about 2 weeks. Saemann plans to be open everyday from 7 a.m. to 3 a.m.
“Every time my kids and I would come back from the airport late at night we wanted to get something to eat, and there was no place open,” Saemann said.
The restaurant is supplemented by decorations that recreate the beach in Manhattan.
“I’ve been living in the South Bay my entire life, and the same late-night restaurants get a little old,” Saemann said.
The floors look like sand, the ceilings are made of bamboo, and blue accents are presented throughout the venue to represent water. Artwork and sculptures show highlights of beach life like that of Manhattan Beach.
“I wanted to produce the feeling that if you look outside you are on the pier with the posts and the water refle ctions down below, as well as the feeling of being in Manhattan Beach on the Strand,” Saemann said. “It’s like you are sitting on the beach eating a fresh hot dog. ”
The process of getting Hotdoggers opened has not been smooth sailing. According to Saemann, the city of Manhattan Beach has made it difficult for the restaurant to have its grand opening.
The restaurant encountered many rules and regulations due to the residents’ concerns. The posibility of the outdoor waiting area and patio worried those that live near the restaurant that there would be too much noise.
“This location has never done well—it has gone broke three or four times. There has never been a functioning dining room,” Saemann said.
Different vendors have occupied the venue in the past. The building has been an ice cream parlor and a Philly cheese-steak place, venues which never encouraged people to sit-down and stay a while.
Hotdoggers will have waiters and waitresses so the customers can sit and relax while waiting for their orders. This will break the trend of the previous restaurants that wanted their customers to walk-in and take-out.
“I can’t wait to go to Hotdoggers,” junior Kevin Kim said. “Everything that the restaurant represents and offers is what I like to see. All the food on the menu sounds great and very appetizing, so I will definitely be going when it opens.”
The menu includes “building your own dog or burger,” which gives the customer a choice of over 65 toppings and 25 different hot dogs. This allows a large variety of hotdogs or hamburgers.
“People have always just bought something to eat, and then left,” Saemann said. “I knew that that wouldn’t make it again in this business, so I had to make it a place where people could come and sit down.”
There are also special creations already available, like “The Spike Dog,” which is one-third pound Cajun Chicken Dog with cuts of Beach Barbecue buffalo chicken thighs, tossed in hot cayenne pepper sauce, and topped with blue cheese dressing.
The menu also contains many side orders, breakfast options, and a page that offers the top ten hotdogs across the USA.
“At Hotdoggers, we make classic American hot dogs in traditional regional styles—just the way they’ve been made across the U.S.A,” Saemann said. “Go ahead, open the menu and do something rad!”
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