Hey! Hot Dog Opens Sweet Corn Stands: 'Really, Really Good Stuff'
JOLIET — One of Joliet’s long-running iconic restaurants, Hey! Hot Dog on Ruby Street, marked another milestone, as Friday marked the first day in 2024 that customers can also purchase Hey! Hot Dog owner-farmer B.J. Uedelhofen’s home-grown sweet corn.
The “SWEET CORN” sign is back, prominently positioned along Ruby Street in the parking lot of Hey! Hot Dog. Over on Black Road in Shorewood, Uedenlhofen’s son Logan is managing their second sweet corn stand, a few blocks west of the ALDI grocery store and the Home Depot.
The Uedelhofen family farms in the Shorewood area.
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“Same as last year, really, really, good stuff,” B.J. Uedelhofen assured Joliet Patch’s editor when asked about his sweet corn.
“We’re definitely very excited to start selling some sweet corn,” he continued.
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Hey! Hot Dog sells the sweet corn at $9 for a Baker’s Dozen (13 ears of corn) or $5 for a half dozen. New this year, but only available at their Shorewood stand, the Uedelhofen family is selling homemade honey.
You can see photos of the honey at the bottom of the article. The honey is sold in 16 ounce bottles for $10, Uedelhofen said.
“The honey comes off our farms,” Uedelhofen explained Friday. “There’s a local beekeeper we use on our farms. The bees help our melons and tomato plants, they pollinate everything.”
The sweet corn stand at Hey! Hot Dog will now stay open Monday through Saturday from about 10:30 a.m. until “we run out,” which can be as late as 6 or 7 p.m.
The Black Road sweet corn stand that sells the Papa’s Honey and Logan Uedelhofen’s popcorn kernels opens around 11 a.m. and stays open until the daily supplies are sold out.
The popcorn kernels are also sold at Hey! Hot Dog in Joliet.
In the coming weeks, the owner of Hey! Hot Dog plans to start selling a wider variety of his home-grown vegetables and produce including his always popular tomatoes, plus watermelons, cantaloupes and pickling cucumbers.
In addition, long-time Hey! Hot Dog employee Lauren Turk will open her farm produce wagon called “Lauren’s Farm Fresh Produce,” (her wagon is painted green and yellow) starting on Monday in Plainfield at the Eaton Preserve on 135th Street.
Turk keeps her farm wagon open at Eaton Preserve Mondays through Saturdays from around 10:30 a.m. to 2:20 p.m. “or, until we sell out,” she said.
As for life in the hot dog and homemade root beer-selling business, Turk told Joliet Patch on Friday that Hey! Hot Dog has been vibrant all summer. Indeed, her Ruby Street parking lot was constantly busy during Patch’s late afternoon interview.
Customers can sit outside and enjoy their meals on one of the Hey! Hot Dog orange-painted picnic tables otherwise customers pull up into a line in the parking lot. Uedelhofen or Turk take the orders and bring your food — and paper bags filled of sweet corn — to your vehicle.
Hey! Hot Dog has been a part of Joliet since 1959 when it was on Joliet’s East Cass Street. It’s been here at 601 Ruby St. since 1978.
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Hey! Hot Dog remains a cash-only business.
“This summer, we’ve had lots of new customers and that’s been very nice to see so many new people and then see them come back and repeat,” Turk said.
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