Woody's Chicago Style

Woody's Chicago Style is a franchise

hot dog A hot dog is a grilled, steamed, or boiled sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term ''hot dog'' can also refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener ( Vienna sausage) or a frankfurter ( Frankfurter Würs ...

company based in the

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, area, serving

Chicago-style hot dog A Chicago-style hot dog, Chicago dog, or Chicago red hot is an all-beef frankfurter on a poppy seed bun, originating from the city of Chicago, Illinois. The hot dog is topped with yellow mustard, chopped white onions, bright green sweet pick ...

s. Woody's was started by the Meyer family in 1987 in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, Hawaii, as a special events concession company. The family of five would do various events ranging from "Family Sunday" at the

Bishop Museum The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, designated the Hawaii State Museum of Natural and Cultural History, is a museum of history and science in the historic Kalihi district of Honolulu, Hawaii, Honolulu on the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu. Founded in 1 ...

to Super Bowl Sunday at the home of known public figures, catering event at the famous ''

Magnum, P.I. ''Magnum, P.I.'' is an American crime drama television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator (P.I.) living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from December 11, 1980, to May 1, 1988, during its first-run broadcast on ...

'' house and UH football games, including the Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium. 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

Dole Food Company Dole plc (previously named Dole Food Company and Standard Fruit Company) is an Irish- American agricultural multinational corporation headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. The company is among the world's largest producers of fruit and vegetables ...

, Dole Pineapple Cannery, Pay-N-Pak, Scofield, Hickam, Pearl Harbor, Camp Smith, Tripler Hospital, Hawaii Maritime Museum, Waikiki and Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center. Within a few years, the blossoming relationship with Pay n Pac's Home Improvement Warehouse allowed Woody's the opportunity to open a concession at the newest hardware concept, Eagle Hardware & Garden. Within a year, Eagle offered Woody's the rights to open franchises in new stores in Colorado, California,

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

and

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. Hawaii is still remembered as one of Woody's most recognized market. In 1998, Eagle Hardware was purchased by the hardware mega-giant

Lowe's Lowe's Companies, Inc. ( ) is an American retail company specializing in home improvement. Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, the company operates a chain of retail stores in the United States. As of October 28, 2022, Lowe's and i ...

. After the purchase, Lowe's approached Woody's about providing service to as many of their stores as possible. Locations opened from Hawaii to North Carolina. Woody's transitioned their name upon their growth on the Mainland to Woody's Chicago Style and the corporate office was then moved in 2000 to Morrison Colorado and then finally to their own facility in 2009 to Lakewood, Colorado. Woody's has had a drastic decline in franchised locations in the last five years due to the economic recession. Poor leadership can also be considered a contributing factor. In an email sent to a former franchisee following their declared bankruptcy in 2005 co-founder Coe D. Meyer stated "your foolish people to think you can just walk away from a franchisee commitment with no recourse" while later saying "I suggest you retain an attorney as you are going to need one" after earlier threatening wage garnishment. In a 2002 article Coe D. Meyer said average pre-tax revenue of their hot dog stands could reach "$150,000 a year" then continued to mention one that would be reaching "$300,000 that year" as well. In 2018, nearly all of their locations are closed, peaking at 86 after stating on their website Lowe's "awarded 300 to developing stores in the west" in the early 2000s. Hot dog restaurants in the United States Restaurants established in 1987 Restaurants disestablished in 2018 Companies based in Lakewood, Colorado 1987 establishments in Hawaii 2018 disestablishments in Colorado