TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – The iconic Tampa restaurant Mel’s Hot Dogs has been listed for sale.
After serving millions of customers for nearly 50 years, owner Mel Lohn said he wants to make sure he sells it to the right person.
“It is important to us, it’s a legacy and it’s something that’s beautiful,” Lohn said.
Lohn, a Chicago native, said he found himself in Tampa in the early 70s while touring with his band.
“I opened this place up because I couldn’t find a good Chicago hotdog here,” he said.
Lohn opened the restaurant on Busch Boulevard in Tampa in July 1973.
Over the decades, the eatery has turned into a place where different generations gather to enjoy Chicago-style hot dogs.
“The perfect situation is all my wonderful customers that I’ve developed over decades and decades and decades, come in and see no change,” he said.
Lohn said the restaurant will remain open because he knows the right person will end up buying it.
“There is an intelligent person out there that recognizes what this is, there’s no question in my mind,” he said.
He also said he is not in a rush to sell and that he and his wife have been taking it day by day.
“The question only is how long it will take to find that person. They’re out there,” Lohn said.