Why I Love This Shithole Hot Dog Joint

I am seriously pissed off at companies for luring you into their traps...they give you a GREAT product at a good price and then over the years as their popularity grows and they are feeling secure...BAM! They adopt the "screw the customer, take away the very reason we became popular in the first place and jack up the prices" mentality. I refer today to Cinnabon. I was at the mall recently and smelled the famous Cinnabon smell and thought wow, haven't had one of those in years, gotta have one! My brother used to work at one way back in the day, and brought home truckloads of leftovers and couldn't stand the sight of them for about 8 years or so. Excited about having a once-loved dessert treat again, I waited in line for the freshly baking rolls to come on out of the oven and have it served up warm and sweet to me.

Upon opening the box, I knew great disappointment was afoot...the roll was this tiny little thing sitting in the middle of the box. When Cinnabon first arrived on the scene, they could barely squeeze those honkin' rolls into the boxes and still manage to close the lids. I looked for the nice light brown toastiness, and saw only half cooked dough. The middle of the roll was sunken in and really, it was just a very pathetic sight. Desperate though to enjoy this ridiculously expensive thing, I took a few bites...the fact that it was not thoroughly baked was hard to ignore, and it was missing the distinct, sharp cinnamon flavor. Cinnabon was made famous because they used a high grade cinnamon that cost very big bucks. It is what gave the rolls that singular flavor and made you feel a little less guilty about spending $4 on something Pillsbury could squeeze out if it's ass in packs of 10 for under three bucks. Now Cinnabon uses the same cinnamon I can pour out the head of the little plastic-woman-cinnamon-shaker-thing I have had in my spice cabinet for like 10 years. You bait and switch bastards.

I am so sick of great products turning to crap to keep investors happy. What about the sucker customers shelling out GOOD money for your garbage product? Oh that's right, once they are hooked and can be counted on to make future purchases, they don't matter for shit. Everything is for sale if it means maintaining your profit margins and pleasing your share holders.

Which brings me to why I so very much LOVE Gene n' Jude's.

Gene and Jude's is an institution in my city. When I spent a short time living in St. Louis and would visit my home town, I made sure to stop off before I got on the road so I could fill up my cooler and have treats the whole ride back. They have resisted making any sort of change at all, even as surrounding areas and businesses attempt to go a bit more trendy and yuppy-ish. The building has never been upgraded, renovated, remodeled, or refurbished. They serve the only three things they can make exceptionally well...hot dogs, fresh cut fries and tamales. You move like cattle through the line, give your order, stick out your money, and as long as you don't dare ask for ketchup, you will have no problems. You can stand at the counter that runs the length of the building and eat, or hang in your car - which I prefer because then you get to smell the hot dogs long after they have been enjoyed.

They have not changed a thing about the way they operate in 30 years of business, and that is exactly what people love about them. They can count on consistent, delicious food at a very reasonable price. I have gone in the summer, and seen lines of hungry patrons that stretched from the front of the counter, along the wall, out the back door, and around the side of the building. I have personally stood in line for 45 minutes to get a fucking hot dog and fries...and friends, it was worth every god damn second!!

I have no doubt that the owners of this hot dog joint are millionaires. They actually require two shipments of bread and potatoes each DAY in the summertime because they can't even store that much food in the back. I'd be curious to know exactly how many they sell in day, but I would be willing to bet it is in the thousands. They pay their staff very well...as they should consider they have no air conditioning, and it must be about 150 degrees working by those steamers in the middle of summer. They have little overhead, no fancy building or 'image' to waste money on. So the owners bank tons o' cash, the staff are well cared for, and the customers are happier than pigs in shit...everyone wins.

Great Product + Happy People = Huge Success

It amazes me that with all of the money corporate chains have to invest in research and marketing, none of them can figure out this not at all fucking elusive formula for success...but a couple of fat Dago's who love hot dogs can. I am so glad I never wasted money on college.