Over half a century ago, two Greek brothers, Thomas and Peter Douvikas created an unusual but extremely popular combination of foodservice and retail in the city of Evanston, Illinois. In 1973, they combined D&D Finer Foods with D&D Dogs to create a one stop shop with all the deli and grocery basics, alongside a restaurant featuring a variety of food from breakfast sandwiches to Vienna Beef Hot Dogs, burgers and their homemade Italian Beef. Their menu is filled with crowd favorite Breakfast sandwiches from The Penthouse with crisp chicken and bacon to The Goliath with an omelet, bacon and hashbrowns. They also feature hot Lunch specialties including Vienna Beef Hot Dogs, Corned Beef, and their Paulie Walnut Veggie Sandwich.
Thomas has been a humble cornerstone of the business since the very beginning; both he and his brother Peter built strong customer relationships. Now, Thomas and his son, Kosta, have carried this deep family relationship throughout their reliable staff who carry out all the details to run this iconic business of quality grocery and foodservice. It’s these qualities of building community relations with both Evanston and Northwestern University customers, including the all-important holiday business and day to day consistency that has led Vienna Beef to pay homage and induct D&D Dogs and Finer Foods into the Vienna Beef Hot Dog Hall of Fame.
“We’re not going anywhere! We have plenty of generations to come with 9 Grandkids”
-Thomas Douvikas at the D&D Dogs Hall of Fame Induction
Vienna Beef is proud to have been part of their growth by providing quality products and marketing support from the beginning of this hall of fame worthy foodservice dynamo. The Hot Dog Hall of Fame was created to honor great foodservice operators that have developed into neighborhood landmarks. Out of thousands of Vienna Beef customers over the years we have recognized only 153 nationwide since the award was created in 2006. From the entire Vienna Beef family, we recognize D&D Dogs and Finer Foods as the 154th recipient.
“D&D Dogs has been a beloved anchor business in Evanston since 1973! It adds so much to the community and we are lucky to have you and what you contribute.”
– Evanston Mayor, Daniel Bliss at the D&D Dogs and Finer Foods Induction Ceremony
