Craig Reidt has been dipping corn dogs and cheese sticks since he was 6 years old.
But he’s 68 now — and he’s just about done.
Craig’s Hot Dog on a Stick, on the Redondo Beach Pier, will likely close Sept. 8, or when supplies run out, owner Reidt said during an interview this week at the store. He has about a week’s worth of supplies, Reidt said.
“It’s sad, but it’s time,” Reidt said while taking cash-only orders. “I’m worn out.”
There’s been a lack of foot traffic past the establishment in recent years, Reidt said. In the old days, he added, the beach would be packed — and the summer break rush would last through Labor Day.
But now, children go back to school in August, and the patronage seems to have fizzled out with that change.
“I can’t see us going past (Sept. 8),” Reidt said. “I want to get it cleared out (before next month ends).”
Although it’s been a long 62 years in the business, Reidt said, he’s never seen it as a job.
“It’s been great,” he said, “better than working for a living.”
The Redondo pier location, built in 1962, was the second store that Hot Dog on a Stick founder Dave Barham opened, Reidt said. The flagship store opened in 1946 in Santa Monica.
Barham and Reidt’s father, Bud Reidt, worked together at Northrop Grumman until the former decided to leave and open the now-famous restaurant.
Craig’s Hot Dog on a Stick is the only independently owned store, hence Reidt’s first name at the beginning. It’s able to stand that way, Reidt said, because Barham personally opened it and made the younger Reidt agree to never sell the rights to that spot.
Reidt would dip hot dogs and cheese sticks at muscle beach in Santa Monica as young as 6 years old, he said, but he officially became a Hot Dog on a Stick employee at 12 years old, making 50 cents an hour. It was 1968 — and Barham was ready to retire.
Although he was no longer behind the fryer, Barham continued to open new stores, which became common sights at malls for years.
In 1979, Barham was looking to open a location at the Del Amo Fashion Center and wanted to relieve himself of the ones on the Redondo Beach Pier and at the Old Towne Mall, now called the Torrance Promenade.
Reidt then bought the Redondo and Torrance restaurants from Barham. The Torrance one eventually closed — but the Redondo Beach location stood strong. Until now.
“This was my last store,” Reidt said. “Now it’s time to retire.”
Some customers on Tuesday walked up to the counter asking about the closure, knowing they may have been stopping by for their last fix.
“I’m going to miss all you guys,” Reidt said as he checked out some of his regulars.
But others had no idea.
Lauren Kim, who was visiting Redondo from Washington state, ordered corn dogs and cheese sticks Tuesday to take back home so her boyfriend could try them from out of state. Reidt cooked them a little more than halfway, so they can finish them in the oven once Kim gets home.
Kim was shocked to hear that she came by during one of the establishment’s last days.
Kim, who lived in Los Angeles during most of her childhood, said she and her family used to visit the Hot Dog on a Stick on the pier often when she was growing up. On a trip here this week to help her brother move, she had to bring a taste of nostalgia back with her.
“I’m definitely bummed,” Kim said. “It’s the best, and it’s fresh.
“It’s a core memory as a child,” she added, “and I like to feed my inner child.”
Of course, she wouldn’t wait until the return home to eat one herself. Kim bit one corn batter-covered hot dog fresh out the fryer.
“It’s just as good as before,” she yelled over her shoulder to Reidt as she walked away from the counter.
Once he vacates the leased storefront, Reidt said, he’ll try to sell some of the corn dog and lemonade-making equipment. The original Hot Dog on a Stick signs, meanwhile, will go up in the garage of his Canyon Lake house.
One of the things he’s most proud of, he said, is sticking to the original “party batter” recipe and staying true to the original, three-item menu: hot dogs on a stick, cheese sticks and classic lemonade. He did add cherry lemonade to the list of options, but absolutely no fries, Reidt said — because Barham hated them.
Reidt would love to carry on the tradition and pass the store along to his daughter to run if it were as lucrative as it once was, he said, but he’s leaving Hot Dog on a Stick on good terms.
After all, few, if any, people can say they’ve been in the corn dog industry as long as Reidt — nearly a lifetime.
“It’s the only thing I’ve ever done,” Reidt said. “I’m going to miss it. It’s the greatest.”
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