The Greasy Wiener Intro from The GreasyWiener on Vimeo.

The Greasy Wiener was founded in 2001 by Adam Dragotta in Tucson, AZ. Originally from New Jersey, Adam moved to Tucson and worked at a bar and restaurant along with his brother Josh called Bison Witches Bar & Deli. The concept for The Greasy Wiener started in the kitchen where Adam and his fellow cooks debated the Art of the Hot Dog. Being the only guy from Jersey, Adam knew the finer points of how a hot dog should be prepared. While the cooks laughed at his suggestions, Adam just sat back and proclaimed that the best dogs are from New Jersey. So proud of his knowledge of frankfurters, Adam bet the kitchen crew that he could sell dogs and introduce the old pueblo to some kick ass hot dogs. All he needed was a name and a cart. Finding a cart was easy. One glance through the local rag turned up a wiener cart. Now for the name…

Adam claims that the name just came to him “Somebody asked me what the dogs were and I said, My Greasy Wiener.” It was a huge. Adam immediately trademarked the name and made T shirts. “I sold a box of one hundred T-shirts over a weekend. I knew I had something special,” explains Adam. “Before I sold a single dog people wanted a t-shirt.” Just like that, My Greasy Wiener was born.

Once the cart was up and running people flocked and T shirts sold. The word about Adam’s My Greasy Wiener hot dogs traveled far and wide and lines formed wherever they went. Adam would work the late night crowds outside of bars on 4^th Ave. His mission was to feed nighttime partygoers. While business prospered and My Greasy Wiener’s popularity grew Adam was faced with the question of what to do next. Would he stay in Tucson and peddle dogs? Longing for a change of environment Adam made the decision to move further west to San Diego, CA.

Adam moved the bohemian mecca that is Ocean Beach. O.B. proved to be the perfect little beach town for Adam’s My Greasy Wiener. “As soon as I opened the cart the people came.” Says Adam. This time he changed his marketing strategy. Instead of focusing solely on the club crowd he would look to the weekend beach combers and O.B. locals. During the day Adam set up the cart at a local park and once again business boomed. At night he would travel to San Diego’s club scene and sling dogs for late night hipsters.

Adam’s business plan was a success and My Greasy Wiener became a local favorite. T-shirts were selling and wieners were walking until one day… one sunny California day turned into a rain storm of headaches. Adam’s business was doing so well that the local restaurants became territorial. One would never think that local restaurateurs would be threatened by one guy and his wiener cart but they were and they were going to do something about it.

You see Adam has a special way he cooks those Greasy Wieners of his. In Tucson this was never a problem. It never occurred to him that this might be a problem in San Diego but it was. Restaurant owners started to harass him and Adam was forced to alter his method of cooking. This direction proved disastrous to the young entrepreneur. After a few weeks of selling un-Greasy Wieners Adam felt that it would be better to close shop with dignity rather then sell another dog that wasn’t truly his own or up to his high standards. He had the product that everyone loved but he couldn’t sell it in conservative San Diego. Opening a brick and mortar restaurant was too costly. Frustrated by his setback, Adam called his brother Josh, a Los Angeles filmmaker for a little brotherly advice.

The timing turned out to be more than perfect. With the recent explosion of food trucks and the people who adore them in Los Angeles, Adam’s Greasy Wiener could find the perfect fit.  With that Adam took a trip to Los Angeles and the two brothers started hatching the plan for the newest addition to L.A.’s Food Truck phenomenon, The Greasy Wiener.

We’ll be updating this site with all the latest news on the The Greasy Wiener, plus fun facts, trivia and all things about the mighty tube steak that we think you’ll enjoy.

We’ll also add videos and photos for those of you who prefer your entertainment on the visual side of the coin. See you soon!