Family Finds Niche In Hot Dogs
Brian and Connie Wright had a dream and a deep devotion to hot dogs, and they found the perfect location for their chipper 20-seat restaurant — a strip mall in Walled Lake, close enough to a major grocery store to squirt mustard on it.
The grocery store, unfortunately, was a Farmer Jack, and it went under before the Wrights moved in. But by then they had a lease, and they still had the dream and the devotion, to be joined shortly thereafter by sliders, nachos and wing dings.
So Unique Franks carries on, and though it had a bit of a slow start in October, I am pleased to report that the southeast corner of Maple Road and Pontiac Trail remains the place to go for a Vienna Beef hot dog sliced down the middle, filled with cheese, wrapped in bacon and deep fried.
That would be the Cheesy Frank, the personal favorite of Connie, 47. She used to be a bookkeeper, but she tended to get laid off a lot, which made a career change seem particularly inviting.
Brian, 44, prefers the double slider with cheese or the Chicago dog, plopped on a poppyseed bun beneath an avalanche of vibrant green relish, tomatoes, sport peppers, chopped onion, dill pickles and celery salt. He still works full-time for a company that makes automated welding machines.
Married 16 years, the Wrights are classic entrepreneurs, yearning to make their own way and willing to siphon out their retirement accounts for the privilege.
I have a huge appreciation for entrepreneurs, probably because I realize I don’t have the nerve to be one. And entrepreneurs with endless kinds of hot dogs on the menu are even better than regular entrepreneurs.
Photo by Tim Wright.
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