Woody's Chicago Style
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Woody's Chicago Style | |
|---|---|
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| Type | Private |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Headquarters | Morrison, CO |
| Key people | Kristin K. Meyer, CEO & President |
| Industry | Franchise Food Service |
| Products | Retail - Chicago Style Sandwiches |
| Employees | 8 |
| Website | www.woodyschicagostyle.com |
Woody's Chicago Style is a franchise hot dog company based in the Denver, Colorado area, serving Chicago-style hot dogs. They are currently the second largest hot dog franchise in the United States behind Wienerschnitzel. Most Woody's locations are found at at Lowe's home improvement centers across the western U.S. with California being their biggest area.
[edit] History
Woody's was started by the Meyer family in 1987 in Honolulu, Hawaii as a special events concession company. The family of five would do various events ranging from "Family Sunday" at the Bishop Museum to Super Bowl Sunday catering events at the famous Magnum P.I. house (which is still done to this day).
Since their inception, Woody's has constantly worked on doing more with less. In the early 1990s, Woody's started a few regular locations around the island. These locations included the Bishop Museum, Dole Pineapple Cannery, Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center and Home Improvement Warehouse (owned by parent company Pay-N-Pak). Within a few years, the blossoming relationship with Home Improvement Warehouse allowed Woody's the opportunity to open a concession at Pay-N-Pak's newest hardware concept, Eagle Hardware and Garden.
Within a year, Eagle offered Woody's the rights to open franchises in new stores in Colorado, California, Nevada and Arizona. Today, these are still Woody's most recognized markets.
In 1998, Eagle Hardware was purchase by the hardware mega-giant Lowe's. After the purchase, Lowe's approached Woody's about providing service to 300 of their stores within a five-year period.
Today, Woody's has over 80 concessions in states spanning from their home in Hawaii to Illinois, with the strongest emphasis still put on their relationship with Lowe's.
