The Inter-Mountain photo by Edgar Kelley
Bus Sharp, left, and Jeremiah Sharp prepare some hot dogs for a customer during the grand opening of Big J’s Hotdog House on Saturday. The new business is located at 203 Randolph Avenue.
ELKINS — The Elkins area has a long history of great hot dog establishments, including Wimpy’s, T-Mart and the Dairy Delight, and many entrepreneurs continue to look to be the next “great one” when it comes to serving dogs locally.
Big J’s Hot Dog House has become the most recent to get into the hot dog game after officially opening its doors for business this past weekend. The new hot dog shop, which is located at 203 Randolph Avenue, currently offers dine-in and carry-out orders.
Big J’s Hot Dog House owner Jeremiah Sharp said he opened the business at the urging of people throughout the community.
“For the past couple of years everybody has been saying Elkins needed a good hot dog shop, so we kind of jumped on the opportunity,” said Sharp, who runs the business with his uncle, Bus Sharp. “We hope everyone comes out and gives us a try. We will treat you like family and we don’t think you will be disappointed with the food.”
Chili has always been the make-or-break topping for hot dogs, and Sharp said his chili, which is made from scratch, is a little different than all the others.
“Our chili is made from a recipe I’ve had for years,” he said. “It’s something I came up with during my years of cooking. It’s sweet and smoky and I don’t think there’s another chili around that tastes like it. And our hot dogs are all-beef dogs, and our slaw and potato salad are homemade as well.”
Sharp has several years of culinary arts training and has worked at more than 20 kitchens across West Virginia. He said his experiences have helped him create some of the gourmet hot dogs that the business offers.
“Our gourmet dogs have a lot of funky toppings, like shrimp and mac and cheese, and shrimp and lobster,” said Sharp. “We also have one called the barbecue dog that has baked beans, bacon and coleslaw.”
Sharp said the restaurant will soon be offering breakfast items such as biscuits and gravy, and waffles, that will be served all day long.
“We will be adding more food items as we go along,” said Sharp. “You never know what we will eventually have on the menu, but we are looking to have pizza somewhere down the road for sure.”
Sharp said that Big J’s Hot Dog House, which is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week, plans on offering delivery for its customers in the future as well.
For more information, visit the restaurant’s Facebook page.