I Miss Alpha Dog

[Captain Zissou]

About once a week I am overcome with a deep sense of loss and longing for Alpha Dog; today's article about the King Street District is what brought on this week's episode, so now my heart is heavy.  It wasn't there very long and it wasn't anything earth shattering, but to me it filled a void in the area and rounded out the dining options for Park and King.  It was a great place to grab a beer and munch on some fries or onion rings on a saturday afternoon.  If you needed a cheap bite on a weeknight it was perfect for that too. 

As the neighborhood grows there will be a number of more public squabbles between RAP and small business owners, but this one was a complete railroading of the business owner that didn't have the financial backing to confront RAP.  The business owner spent a great deal of money to build out the patio in the back of the restaurant, which would have been a huge draw, but he was never allowed to use it.  He applied for permits and the city was well aware of what he intended to do, but they let him sink $20k into an asset he would never be able to generate a return from.  Add to that RAP backing one disgruntled resident and giving him an undue amount of influence in opposition of the Dog.  That one two punch was enough to knock out a place that was showing promise and growing sales. 

In time I hope that something fills that space and has great success, but for now I'll just have to endure as I stare longingly at that bright red and yellow empty building.

[John P]

blame RAP!

[thelakelander]

I miss Alpha Dog too.

[kreger]

Opening a restaurant that primarily sells hot dogs was kind of a stretch. Offering table service for said hot dogs even stranger. Hot dog carts have a hard time being profitable. Assuming that a late night loud venue wouldn't be a problem at that particular location was actually kinda bad planning. I wouldn't blame RAP for a poor business plan. There are hundreds of much better locations that could have survived the Alpha Dog.

[ben says]

From what I understand (could be wrong here, someone correct me), Alpha Dog was doing fine financially in the sense they had a good business going--a good crowd, so to speak. It was the combo of a bad neighbor, RAP, and an untimely financial situation that tanked them in the end.

[Brian Siebenschuh]

Offering table service for said hot dogs even stranger. Hot dog carts have a hard time being profitable.

Yeah, they made some questionable concept decisions - putting the bar way in the back of the restaurant, and running table service with a host stand at a hot dog restaurant...  Should have knocked out some walls, installed a bar that was immediately visible upon entering the place, and run counter service.

But as far as carts go, the hot dog lady that's in front of the Park & King Walgreen's every day has been in business for what seems like forever, and she gets to work on her tan while she's at work.

[Gknee]

Noticed yesterday as we were driving by that they were painting and doing some work on the building.  What's going on?

[Wacca Pilatka]

Opening a restaurant that primarily sells hot dogs was kind of a stretch.

Oh, not in Newport News, VA, it isn't.  I don't know exactly how many Hot Dog King locations we have but it sure feels like a lot of them.

[Dog Walker]

Noticed yesterday as we were driving by that they were painting and doing some work on the building.  What's going on?

I think there was a rumor of a compounding pharmacy going in there.   There seem to be a number of them popping up around town.  How do they compete with CVS & Walgreens?