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SHORT ORDERS
[ S T. L O U I S S TA N D A R D S ]
Every Dog Has Its Day With more than a million wieners sold, Woofie’s is a nostalgic Overland institution Written by
CHERYL BAEHR
W
hen Mary O’Leary wants to explain what her iconic hot dog shop Woofie’s means to people, her thoughts immediately go to her longtime customer, Pete. According to O’Leary, Pete has been coming in every day since the first owner Charlie isen was in charge; considering he sold the place in the late 1990s, O’Leary thinks that’s quite a commitment. “When I think of why we’ve stood the test of time, I think of Pete, who’s been coming here since Charlie owned it,” O’Leary says. “He’s there every day between 3:15 and 3:45 [p.m.] unless he’s out of town, and he gets the same hot dog every single day. We’re all like, ‘Pete’s coming’ when we see him come around the corner so we can make sure to have his meal ready for him.” O’Leary understands that the legions of fiercely loyal customers like ete come to Woofie’s for more than the delicious Vienna beef hot dogs. Since the 1950s, the Overland spot has been a mainstay for people seeking casual soda shop fare first as the diner Hamburger Heaven, and eventually as Woofie’s when isen took over in 1976. That such a place still exists in essentially the same form since its inception — its only real updates were a good cleaning and a fresh coat of paint when O’Leary and her husband, Craig Smith, took over the place in 2008 — is a testament to its nostalgic pull. From the quintessential blue and orange Vienna beef brand colors that give the space its vintage hot dog shop look to the dogs themselves Woofie’s has remained the same over the years,
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RIVERFRONT TIMES
Woolfie’s die-hard fans come from as far away as other states and as close as a few blocks. | ANDY PAULISSEN
Mary O’Leary has grown to love Woolfie’s because of it customers. | ANDY PAULISSEN
Woolfie’s has sold more than a million of these. You can trust them. | ANDY PAULISSEN offering a consistent thread to the past that makes the place feel like a time capsule. O’Leary would never think of changing that. As much a steward of the restaurant as its manager, she fell into the business thanks to her husband and has felt a re-
AUGUST 11-17, 2021
riverfronttimes.com
sponsibility to keep its identity intact ever since, even if she wasn’t so keen on the spot in the first place. After all, Smith bought it on a whim, after a lunch conversation with the former owner, a man she knows only by the first name Paul. According to O’Leary,
Paul expressed to her husband that he had lost interest in operating Woofie’s after his wife’s death and he was looking for someone to buy him out. Without giving it another thought, Smith volunteered. “He came home and told me that he bought Woofie’s ’ eary recalls. “I asked him, ‘What’s Woofie’s ’ e told me that it was a hot dog place, and he was sur-
