Thursday, April 6, 2017

The History of Fluky's Hot Dog Stands & Restaurant in Chicago, Illinois. (1929-2006)

Fluky's Red Hots. The original hot dog stand on Maxwell Street in Chicago. 1929
Fluky's founder, Abe "Fluky" Drexler, opened in Chicago in 1929 on Maxwell and Halsted Streets. They carried all the character and romance for which Chicago Street Merchants were famous, and Fluky's reputation as having the city's best "Hot Dog" started to grow.
Fluky's Grand Opening on Maxwell and Halsted Streets in Chicago. April 16, 1932
On April 16, 1932, a second Fluky's was opened, and then in 1935, a third store was opened, and a fourth in 1936.
Fluky's Hot Dog Shoppe (1936)
156 West Divison Street, Chicago
1906 North Ogden Avenue, Chicago
3551 West Roosevelt Road, Chicago
6716 North Sheridan Road, Chicago 



Addressing why the Fluky's on Lawrence Avenue is never mentioned.

This is the listing for Flukey's Bar-Be-Cue at 3414 West Lawrence Avenue from the 1955 Chicago White Pages. It is not Fluky's Hot Dogs, even if they sold hot dogs. See the spelling of the name Flukey's.






Chicago Tribune, Wednesday, April 13, 1955. Here, the business name is spelled as "Flukey's Bar-B-Q. It's not the same as Fluky's Hot Dog Stand.



Fluky's became known for its "Depression Sandwich" - a hot dog with mustard, relish, onion, pickles, pepper, lettuce, tomatoes, and French fries FOR ONLY 5¢! The "Garden on a Bun" was the depression sandwich without the hot dog, costing only 2¢.
Fluky's reputation was built on good food, good service, and goodwill through the hard times of the Depression. Many youngsters and adults who didn't have the nickel were fed anyway.

With the coming of World War II came meat rationing. This made it difficult to get the quality product Fluky's needed, and within a short time, Fluky's closed its doors at three of its locations, and the fourth was the only store to continue until 1955. 

On February 18, 1964, Fluky's again opened its doors after 9 years of silence. The opening was greeted with a tremendous outpouring of warmth and fondness from thousands who had many fond memories.
In just a few months, Fluky's was the largest Hot Dog stand in Chicago. Except Fluky's was no longer a Hot Dog Stand. It was now housed in a large glass-enclosed structure, previously unknown in the Hot Dog industry of push-carts and street stands.
Fluky's, 6732 North Western Avenue, Chicago, Illinois.
Fluky's had made a giant step toward upgrading the Hot Dog business. The new building was on the west side of Western Avenue at 6732 North Western Avenue in the West Rogers Park neighborhood of the West Ridge community in Chicago (not in Rogers Park). There was a long, thin counter at the large windows to stand and eat, facing Western Avenue.

Fluky's opened at 9645 North Milwaukee Avenue, at Golf Road, in Niles in the 1980s.
In 1998, Fluky's moved to the east side of Western Avenue at 6821 N. Western Avenue in the West Ridge community of Chicago, where the new location offered a drive-thru. Fluky's closed on February 13, 2006. 
Abe Drexler's son, Jack, opened a Fluky's in the Wal-Mart at 5630 W Touhy Avenue, Niles, Illinois. Many say that it is not the same. Perhaps they are just being nostalgic. Your comments are welcome.
Let's not forget the individually wrapped Hot Dog Gum given with counter orders.


Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Whoopee Auto Coasters of Illinois (1929-1930)

A unique ride of the times, the Whoopie Auto Coaster, opened in July, 1929, in the southwest suburb of Lyons.
It was a wooden track built in an undulating, 'hill-and-dale' style; patrons paid an admission fee to drive their own cars over this track, approximating the thrills of a roller coaster. Located at 47th Street and Lawndale Avenue, the Lyons Whoopie track was built and owned by the Coaster Construction Company, which had similar tracks in Kansas City, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Seattle.
In partnership with a local businessman named John Skale, the company announced it would build a full scale park on 23 acres surrounding the track; plans called for the erection of practically every kind of device... the kind found in old school amusement parks and traveling carnivals.
It seemed a good idea at first. Car ownership had boomed throughout the Twenties. Yet, after a couple weeks operation, the novelty of the Whoopie Coaster wore off; then, it was necessary to stimulate patronage by giving two or more rides around the track for a single admission. And after the stock market crash that October, drivers would become much more cautious about wear and tear on their cars. It was soon evident that the Whoopie track was a one-season wonder. By 1930, the Lyons track had closed, its proposed full-scale park never built."
At River Road and Irving Park Boulevard in Schiller Park, Illinois, the Suburban Amusement Company used 200,000 feet of number one pine lumber to construct what it called an "auto coaster." For just ten cents you could enjoy the thrills of "mountain driving" in your own vehicle. The Whoopee Auto Coaster at Waukegan Road near Willow Road in Northfield delivered the same excitement over a "mile-long plank road."
VIDEO

The Whoopee Coaster
By Neil Gale, Ph.D.