Steve Siegel, a Las Vegas apartment landlord and bagel and donut slinger, has now added a staple of American malls to his portfolio.
Siegel’s restaurant company Amazing Brands announced Wednesday that it acquired Hot Dog on a Stick through bankruptcy court.
He confirmed in an interview that he bought the business for $8 million in cash and that the deal closed about a month ago.
The iconic hot dog chain — known for its employees’ striped uniforms and hats and its presence in shopping-mall food courts — sells “hand-stomped” lemonade, fries, funnel-cake sticks, and, as its name implies, hot dogs on a stick.
It currently has 44 locations, comprising a mix of corporate-owned and franchised outlets, but used to have more than 100, according to a news release from Amazing Brands.
Siegel, the real estate investor behind the chain of low-priced Siegel Suites apartment buildings, has big plans for the eatery.
He envisions opening locations in airports, stadiums and amusement parks; building freestanding stores along busy streets; and licensing its products. He’s also looking to have multiple locations on the Las Vegas Strip.
All told, he wants to grow the business through the corporate side and by franchising and is betting its deep nostalgia factor will help draw customers.
“I’m going to take the brand worldwide,” he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Bankruptcy cases
Launched in 1946 in Santa Monica, California, Hot Dog on a Stick has gone through multiple ownership changes over the past dozen years — and more than one trip through bankruptcy court.
In early 2014, then-parent company HDOS Enterprises filed for bankruptcy protection. It said in court papers that it had expensive leases in various shopping malls, but as mall traffic waned, many of its rental agreements “created a significant drag” on its cash flow.
It said that its business was hit hard during the Great Recession and that it explored a sale of the company, but these negotiations fell through, largely due to the “burdensome lease obligations” tied to its least-profitable stores, court records show.
The owners of Global Franchise Group announced in summer 2014 that the brand-management firm had acquired Hot Dog on a Stick. According to court records, Global Franchise had reached a deal to acquire the business for $11 million in cash, plus a royalty of at least $1 million, and other terms.
The purchase price was around $12.2 million, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Then, in 2021, restaurant-franchising giant FAT Brands acquired Global Franchise for $442.5 million. As part of the deal, FAT picked up several brands, including Round Table Pizza and Hot Dog on a Stick.
This past January, however, FAT filed for bankruptcy protection.
‘Deleverage’
It said in a news release that it planned to “deleverage” its balance sheet and that its brands had “demonstrated tremendous resilience in a challenging restaurant operating environment over the last few years.”
The company booked a nearly $190 million net loss in 2024 and reported having around $1.2 billion in long-term debt by the end of that year, according to a securities filing.
In late April, a court filing in the bankruptcy case showed that Amazing Brands was buying the Hot Dog on a Stick brand for $8 million.
According to a subsequent court filing by the buyer, Siegel oversees a portfolio of more than 100 commercial properties and 12,000-plus apartment and extended-stay units across roughly 20 states.
He also operates a range of food-and-beverage businesses, with experience in bakeries and quick-service, full-service and fine-dining restaurants, the filing stated.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Alfredo Perez approved the sale in an order dated May 19.
Siegel’s real estate business, The Siegel Group, operates the chain of his namesake apartment buildings. His other holdings include a spread of vacant property on the north end of the Strip, and he has bought and sold other properties over the years, including small hotels near Las Vegas’ famed casino corridor.
His restaurant portfolio through Amazing Brands includes Siegel’s Bagelmania, which bills itself as a modern-day Jewish deli and bakery; Pinkbox Doughnuts, which boasts more than a dozen locations; and Piero’s Italian Cuisine, a classic Vegas restaurant on Convention Center Drive near the Strip.
Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342.
