New Hot Dog Eatery Opens in Port Jefferson Station

This article was posted by Joseph Pinciaro. It was written and reported by Christine Sampson.


There are plenty of burger joints around town, and plenty of delis and pizza places too. But no restaurants in the greater Port Jefferson area that specialize in hot dogs.

But that has changed now that Long Island Dogs is open in Port Jefferson Station.

“We have these kinds of places in Connecticut, where it’s a grilled dog and not in a truck on the side of the road with the hot dog in the water. ... So we decided to bring this taste to New York. It certainly is different,” said Ron Gavern, who manages the eatery for his son Jonathan, the owner.

Long Island Dogs opened on Monday at 1035 Route 112, in the same shopping center as Colosseo Pizza and the Department of Motor Vehicles, and has already seen some good traffic. Gavern said about 60 people came through the door on Monday, about 80 on Tuesday. Not bad for all word-of-mouth at this point, Gavern said.

Long Island Dogs occupies a space that was formerly an ice cream parlor. Sandwiched between Hurricane Grill and a bagel store, the eatery also serves burgers, fries and ice cream. But Gavern said they’re not trying to compete with other burger joints – they’re just focusing on their own style of hot dog, which they first fry in oil and then put on the grill.

“I think people like their hot dogs. I don’t think they’ve been exposed to [this],” he said. “I think they’re exposed to those trucks that have been there a long time. Not that they’re not good, but there’s other ways of cooking it.”

The hot dogs on the menu range from $2.75 for an original dog, which can be customized with condiments, to $4.25 for a “Georgia Red Hot,” which includes mustard, kraut, and sweet relish. In between, the hot dogs have names like “Mad Dog” ($3.50), which has mustard, bacon, grilled onion, peppers and jalapeños, and “Southwestern” ($3.50), which has chili, cheddar cheese, and coleslaw. Gavern said they make their own chopped meat for their burgers, and only use bakery-made rolls baked fresh every day.

Gavern said the space was selected based on its location within a busy shopping center at the corner of Route 112 and Canal Road. He said they expect to get plenty of foot traffic from people going to and from the DMV and other stores within the shopping center.

“They’ve been here obviously 30-some-odd years so the shopping center had to be fairly successful,” he said. “ Being surrounded by other businesses here, I felt that this was a good location to open.”

Plus, it’s not far from the Port Jefferson-Bridgeport Ferry, which is helpful for owner Jonathan Gavern – who also owns eateries in Connecticut – to use in traveling from his Connecticut home to his new Port Jefferson Station business.

So far, they’re having fun.

“When it’s busy, the day goes by quick, and it’s fun,” Ron Gavern said. “People are trying things out. ... It’s better than I expected.”

The goal, he said, is to open other Long Island Dogs locations in Suffolk County and eventually in Nassau.

“It’s going to take a little while to get off the ground,” he said, “but it will get off the ground.”

Long Island Dogs is located at 1035 Route 112 in Port Jefferson Station, and can be reached via phone at 631-509-4377. Its hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. all week long.
Photo credit: Christine Sampson (April 16, 2013)