It’s National Hot Dog Month, and this Saturday, July 23, Daniel DeMiglio, owner of Callahan’s Hot Dogs, will give away his “So Big, So Good” fried wieners to the first 50 customers who show up at his colorful restaurant at 10 Broad Street in Norwood.
Callahan’s 9-inch ($4.25) and 12-inch ($6.95) dogs are made from pork and beef by Sabrett. They’re fried until the skin splits–hence, a ripper.
Relishes, raw onions and condiments are free, but the dedicated fresser can add sauerkraut, cheese, gravy, chili or three kinds of sautéed onions for $.75 each.
The Super Dog with chili, foreground. Photo: Chris Monroe, The Record
The menu available for purchase includes sandwiches, burgers and eight types of fries, including buffalo, bacon, blue cheese and sweet cinnabon-toast-crunch.
DeMiglio, 33, calls himself “the third generation of hot dog craziness,” but his place in the family business almost fell through.
His grandfather, Artie Castrianni, whose World War II Armed Forces dog tags DeMiglio wears every day, started selling hot dogs in 1950 after buying a gas station/hot dog stand in Fort Lee from the Callahan sisters. DeMiglio’s mother, Linda, and father, Ron, spent their second date making hamburger patties and sausages.
“My grandfather really made my dad prove himself” before he’d let them continue going out, says DeMiglio.
Ron and Ron’s brother-in-law, Rick Castrianni, turned Callahan’s into a Bergen County icon. DeMiglio grew up peeling potatoes and onions there and always assumed he would take over the business.
But his father and uncle insisted that he get a college degree. So he got one, fron Scranton University.
Then, in 2006, “two months after I graduated, they sit me down and tell me they are going to sell the land and retire,” says DeMiglio. “It was tough for me to swallow that pill.”
He tried a different career. He worked in production for NBA Entertainment, traveling the world, but eventually was down-sized.
DeMiglio owned a restaurant for a few years. Then in 2014 he decided to resurrect Callahan’s as a bright yellow and red food truck that he parked in Van Saun County Park in Paramus.
A Callahan’s hot dog truck.
So many old fans, who he calls “Callahan’s kids,” showed up that he ended up selling 2,600 hot dogs at his grand opening.
“From that day on, the business exploded,” he says.
DeMiglio has since bought a second truck that roams the state. Last year he decorated his Norwood storefront with the nostalgic décor of his grandfather’s original shop, including the tail end of a cherry red ’57 Chevy with the vanity plate HOTDOG.
“We had people sleeping outside for two days before that grand opening,” DeMiglio attests. “It was completely humbling. My goal was to bring back a memory that my grandpa always cherished. Hugging people and hearing how much they appreciate me bringing back the business, that’s the biggest success.”