FAIRMONT -
Drake's Hotdogs aims to keep its menu simple.
"They're very welcoming and they're very nice," said Drake's Hotdogs customer Annika Adkins. "I just feel like I'm at home pretty much when I come here."
"This is a family business we want to keep it family," said owner Larry Drake. "Keep it simple and keep everything local."
And that's exactly what Larry Drake did.
Drake's Hot Dogs opened on June 2, 2009 right off of Fairmont State University's campus on Locust Avenue.
The walls are covered with local sports memorabilia such as newspaper clippings, T-shirts, and flags.
The decorations aim to draw in sports lovers and a college crowd.
"We're right down the road from Fairmont State so we are trying to keep it more young, sports things, you got West Side," Drake said. "My father was a West Side football player."
"It's very convenient and it's inexpensive for the college students," said customer Martina Adkins. "They love it here."
Drake said he opened his hot dog shop because he wanted to bring more business to the west side of Fairmont.
And it must be working. He said the restaurant rarely has a slow day.
"Lunch is usually really busy around here," he said. "We are only open until 6 p.m. We are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day. Monday through Friday. Saturdays we are open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m."
Drake's offers a variety of hot dogs such as Italian Dogs, Slaw Dogs, Kraut Dogs, but their top seller is a Habenero dog.
The menu also includes pepperoni rolls, nachos, and pulled pork sandwiches with homemade sweet BBQ sauce.
"Everything tastes much better," Martina Adkins said. "You can tell. You can tell they make the sauce. It's just much better here."
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