And then there’s Old Fashion Hot Dogs, which has seen nearly a century of change.
Recent years of development near Old Fashion’s perch at Lorain and West 41st have brought seismic change, and that has helped spell the end of the legendary establishment as Old Fashion Hot Dogs will close its doors on March 29th after 92 years of business.
“As with everything these days, developers have taken over,” says co-owner Tom Sorma, who bought the business with his brother Pete and his deceased brother John 32 years ago. “Someone bought this property and they’re gonna tear it down and put an apartment building here. There were tentative plans — he had wanted to give me the opportunity to come into the new building — but at my age at 67, it’s too late and too expensive.
“It’s been great,” he says. “The customers have been good. Just like anything else, there are ups and downs, and here, at night, you’re trying to sober people up and you can run into problems there. But it’s been amazing. Who gets to run a business that’s been around for 90 years?”
“It’s been a Cleveland staple,” says Mary Sorma, Tom’s daugther. “The diner has fed any walk of life any time of day, and night. It’s a place where my mom’s warm smile welcomed you, my uncle’s harsh tone sobered you up a bit, and my dad’s timeless charm had you hooked. It’s a place where every Sorma child worked, by choice or not. It’s a place that three brothers bought wide-eyed and hung on to for three decades, way before the area was trendy. The only thing I ask of you: Let’s close the doors of a 92-year-old Cleveland-owned family business with grace. Send my family off with a retirement fund. Tip generously — lord knows they deserve it.”
(Note: The restaurant is cash-only.)
The Sormas bought Old Fashion from Emmanouel “Mike” Vasiliou, a Greek immigrant who, after a stop in New York, came to Cleveland and opened the lunch counter in 1928.
He operated the business for decades while not eating a hot dog himself — “He tried one once and spat it out,” Tom Sorma told Scene a few years ago. “He avoided processed meats and all that stuff.”
The charming spot — all of 9 feet by 40 feet — was a mainstay with rock-bottom prices that didn’t seem to change since the 1970s — $1.75 for a chili dog, a breakfast combo for $2.50, a BLT for $3.25.
“We got by for many years on volume,” Tom Sorma told Scene. “Volume is everything.”
And volume is what Cleveland can deliver in the final month and a half before the doors close for good. It’s only fitting for what Old Fashion has given Cleveland since 1928.
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This article appears in Feb 19-25, 2020.
Actually it was called the Hot Dog Inn for many many years. Maybe about 25-30 years ago the name changed to old fashion.
The place had the best late night food hours. If they embraced accepting card payments they would’ve done better, potentially with enough earnings to make it worthwhile to remain when the new buildings go up. Ohio city residents now are willing to pay more too, so I think reluctance to change with the times doomed this business. In Chicago, the older places that make it through revitalization are the ones that can keep their charm while not letting themselves become outdated.
Food here is decent and again good hours, but I almost never have cash on me, and I know I’m not the only one who hasn’t frequented this place more for that simple reason.
I stopped by today. Super sad to be there when a ton of regulars got wind of them closing. All ages love that place. Another real Cleveland spot gone.
I remember going there with my friends & absolutely loved their food !!! The slaw dog is the ultimate bomb!! This sucks that they would have to close, I wish the community could save this place some how, but I don’t have any solutions to offer, I wish I did. This is a Cleveland legend & to shut this place down because of $$$, I will be showing my gratitude by going to visit their before they close and make new memories of what & how great their food is & was !! It’s too bad that a family member couldn’t step up & set up another place to carry on this great food & decent prices that help people get by !! Too bad the mayor couldn’t offer them a lower priced building far as taxes goes, they helped out Cleveland, why can’t Cleveland help them out ??
1) Dealing with millennials is enough to make me retire or close a business
2) if you dont have ten bucks in your pocket to pay to pay for a cheap hot dog meal but can carry around phones worth thousands of dollars, your a tool…. he wants cash to keep prices down!
3) dealing with todays entitled customers is a hassle,
4) the new rents would force them to raise prices enormously and alienting the or old customers anyway..
Look at the current “Flats”… never the same, empty bars, very little nightlife, and overpriced, corporate sterile feel and just not fun
complete opposite of the original flats when it was crazy fun, felt like a local owned establishment and it was major tourist attraction!
Imagine spending your time whining about millenials and entitled customers because you’re a cliche without anything of substance to say.
Anyway, it is always sad to see a small, long-time community staple close, and there have been a lot of them. Hopefully we don’t end up at a point where they just can’t exist at all in this city.
Whether or not we’re tools, we’re an important customer base and when we don’t have cash we’re not going to go to an atm, we’ll just go to a restaurant that’ll take card. Millennials are also the ones moving back into the city, so we’re not all bad.
This is a cute spot. Very sad it’s closing, it is a critique about the credit cards, I think they would’ve lasted if they made that change. Wasn’t trying to start a whole generational argument.
Tom and Pete – best of luck to you and your families.
And replying to previous post, Steve’s Hotdog Inn was on Lorain at W44th. They burned down, not the same place.
Huh, whenever I see people complaining to the manager or yelling at employees, it’s not millennials.
With Square, accepting credit cards is trivial. A $10 transaction on Square costs a trivial 36 cents in fees – it’s just a part of the cost doing business nowadays. Set a $5 minimum if you must, millennials will buy a drink to hit that minimum if they have to. And “entitled” millennials will often hit the 10% or 15% tip button on the touch screen on a to go order, because it’s convenient.
The developers–destroying Cleveland in order to “save” it.
And another one bites the dust.
Tell your out-of-tow friends to come to Cleveland…before it’s gone.
Steve’s Hot Dog Inn was at 50th and Lorain, not 44th.
It’s very sad there closing there are becoming less and less original Old tyme dinners and Ameicana places left at least in cleveland, this place has seen so much change in cleveland history and survived. Our grandparents and great grandparents went here in their party days. (Side note I don’t think It is completely fair to judge the millennials I’m 37 and the silent generation were still around for the most part When I was there age about timed out to where the baby boomers are today they just don’t quite get how business ran B4 internet when you had a swipe machine for a credit card ( May company.Parma town mall)
Oh no, not the Hot Dog Inn. It’s the first place in the city that my husband took me on our first date. He started going there as a kid from the Eastside who saved his paperboy money. Lol. Our kids and grandchildren were frequent guest there. After closing our nightclub at 2:30 a.m. we took our staff to the Hot Dog Inn,
In fact our son who is a Hollywood screen writer was so impressed with the Hot Dog Inn, that he opened a restaurant (Soul Dog) In upscale SoHo near Burbank Studios specializing in hot dogs topped with chili and soulful stuff. He created the chili by memory he said. Lol.
Wonderful memories. Great family and staff. So much love.❤️❤️
My Dad went there, the Hot Dog in in the late 40’s, 1940’s that is….
wow…what a shame…no one to continue with this great recipe…..and it was always great to deal with Tom and his wife…..was refreshing to walk in and be greeted as MR W ,,….they butchered my last name , but everyone does….been going there for over 65 years,,,,,best Hot Dogs anywhere,,,,never even though of it closing,,I drove 55 one way miles to get a freaking Hot Dog,,,. the upside…my Doctor will see a lowering of cholesterol….
Gary W