Fetching Quality Doggs
By Becky Billingsley
After only four months in business, Joey Sutherland and Joey Colangelo are busy keeping things interesting at their new Surfside Beach restaurant called Joey Doggs, where no menu item costs more than $6.
Joey Sutherland is a familiar name in the Grand Strand restaurant scene. He worked for Ed Fleming of J. Edward's, back when J. Edward's was a Western Sizzlin'.
"My first job was making toast," he said. "I graduated to making French fries and baked potatoes, then I worked my way up to the meat room, cutting steaks and making burgers for Western Sizzlin'."
In 1987 Joey Sutherland moved to Charleston and worked for Palas Hospitality, which owns Key West Grill and several hotels. There are three Key West Grills, including the one at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, and Joey opened all of them.
In 2007 he bought Aspen Grill in Myrtle Beach, which he recently sold.
Joey Colangelo is a New Jersey native who has never before owned a restaurant. He has wanted to open a hot dog business for several years and, as a customer at Aspen Grill, mentioned his idea to Joey Sutherland. The idea and the opportunity finally came together, and Joey Doggs was created.
"The chili we use is a 75-year-old family recipe," Joey Colangelo said. "It's made fresh here, and our red onion sauce is made fresh. There's not a freezer in this joint; everything here is fresh."
Nothing on the Joey Doggs menu costs more than $5.99. Of special note are Super Duper Burgers, which contain blue or Cheddar cheese inside them and are bathed in a balsamic tomato glaze.
The Italian Grilled Cheese is unique: the bread is eggwashed and grilled like French toast, and contains two kinds of cheese. The fries are freshly cut on-site, and onion rings have a delightfully light and crunchy batter.
A popular new offering is the Doggie Bowl, where a plastic dog dish is filled with fries and onion rings, and choice of two chili dogs, a grilled or fried chicken sandwich or a cheeseburger.
The hot dogs are skinless kosher all-beef, and are made exclusively for Joey Doggs at a New Jersey plant. Dogs can be dressed up several ways.
"Dirty Water Dogs are boiled and served with mustard and red onion sauce," Joey Colangelo said. "There are thousands of pushcarts in New York City that sell them, and they call them Dirty Water Dogs. I was 8 or 9 years old the first time I had one in the city, and I was in heaven."
A new specialty hot dog at Joey Doggs has a championship pedigree. Don Steele is a loyal customer at Joey Doggs who has become friends with proprietor/partner Joey Sutherland. Don is a three-time South Carolina Golden Glove Boxing Champion, a 2-time Olympic trial bronze medalist, and 1996 Heavyweight Title winner for the United States Boxing Association, among other boxing achievements.
Don also attended Johnson & Wales University for more than two years, where he was a full-time culinary arts student.
"I love to cook," the Champ said at the restaurant. "And I love pimento cheese."
The new Champ Dog is topped with Don's pimento cheese, chili, onions and mustard.
Recently Joey Doggs expanded its menu and hours of operation with Dashboard Breakfast Sandwiches. They come in eight varieties, with fillings such as Taylor Ham, egg, cheese, sausage and bacon. The sandwiches range in price from $1.99 to $3.29, and coffee, milk and juice are also available.
Joey Doggs is spacious and sunny, with booths lining walls on the left and right, and tables in the middle. You get free self-serve refills on drinks (except for bottled water), and they feature Pepsi products.
Children love the sound of a barking dog that's emitted when someone enters or exits the restaurant's front door. They're also entertained by a crane game, a marksman video game and a driving video game.
The Joeys launched a tradition of contests soon after they opened. They say their hot dog eating competition will be an annual event, as will a cole slaw recipe competition where the winner's "good Southern cole slaw recipe" is used the rest of the year in the restaurant.
Joey Doggs is at 1818 U.S. 17 Business N. in Surfside Beach, across from Ocean Lakes Campground and next to El Patio. It's open from 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. The number is (843) 238-JOEY.
There are no comments posted. Add yours below.