Tony Packo's Cafe
| Type | Restaurant |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1932 |
| Headquarters | Toledo, Ohio, United States |
| Key people | Tony Packo |
Tony Packo's Cafe is restaurant that started in the Hungarian neighborhood of Birmingham, on the east side of Toledo, Ohio at 1902 Front Street. The restaurant gained notoriety by its mention in several M*A*S*H episodes and is famous for its signature sandwich and large collection of hot dog buns signed by celebrities.
Contents |
[edit] History
During the depression in 1932, Tony Packo used a $100 loan to open his shop, which originally sold only sandwiches and ice cream. In 1935, the Packo family purchased the current wedge-shaped building on the corner of Front and Consaul streets next to the Maumee River, which includes the former Consaul Tavern. Tony Packo's Cafe is still family run today, by Tony's and Rose's son Tony Jr. and their grandson Robin Horvath.
Tony's signature "sausage-and-sauce sandwich" on rye was first made when he decided to add a spicy chili sauce to his sandwiches for more flavor. Eventually, his creation became known as the "Hungarian hot dog", even though no such thing had come from the Old Country. The dish quickly became popular and the cafe is now billed as "the place where man bites dog".[1] The "hot dog" is really a Hungarian sausage called Kolbász, not unlike the Polish kielbasa, about twice the diameter of a conventional hot dog, and slicing the sausage in half yields about the same amount of meat.
In June 2011 Fifth Third Bancorp which foreclosed on $4 million in loans while family members had been suing each other in court since 2002 said that the future of the restaurant is in doubt after it lost money in 2010 under operation by a court-appointed third party.[2]
[edit] M*A*S*H
Tony Packo's Cafe gained world-wide fame when M*A*S*H character Maxwell Klinger, who was played by Toledo native Jamie Farr, made mention of the restaurant in six episodes. He first said in a 1976 episode, "If you're ever in Toledo, Ohio, on the Hungarian side of town, Tony Packo's got the greatest Hungarian hot dogs."[2][1] In one episode, the hospital unit ordered a batch of sausage casings from Packo's to use in a blood-filtering machine (a crude artificial kidney). In another, a wounded soldier from Toledo sends Klinger a shipment of Packo's hot dogs as a thank-you gift. Packo's was also mentioned in the famous two-and-a-half hour final episode. The restaurant displays several M*A*S*H mementos on the premises.
[edit] Bun signing
When actor Burt Reynolds visited Toledo in 1972, he made a stop at the restaurant on the suggestion of Tony's daughter, Nancy. Reynolds was the first big name to eat at Packo's, and he also began the tradition of "bun signing" when he brandished his signature on a Packo hot dog bun. Ever since then, celebrities who visit the restaurant sign a "bun"—now a plastic, air-brushed look-alike—and have it placed on the walls of Packo's.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Zimmermann, George; Carol Zimmermann (2009). Ohio Off the Beaten Path. p. 187. ISBN 0762750510.
- ^ a b "Future of Cpl. Klinger's beloved hot dogs in doubt - Yahoo! News". News.yahoo.com. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110610/ap_on_en_tv/us_hot_dog_feud. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 41°39′36″N 83°30′08″W / 41.659958°N 83.502223°W
