LAKEVIEW — Byron's Hot Dogs is back and better than ever after a fire broke out near the stand's grill in early May.
The stand, 1017 W. Irving Park Road, was closed for a couple weeks for repairs, and owner Mike Payne said they took the opportunity to spruce up the place.
"It looks a lot better," Payne said of the no-frills stand known for some of the city's tastiest Chicago dogs.
The fire began around 2:30 a.m. May 2, when discarded towels and a stainless steel sponge used for cleaning became trapped behind the grill and spontaneously combusted, Payne said.
"We made some changes in there so that can't happen again," he said.
While the fire did damage the ceiling, walls and some equipment, it never reached the roof, which meant damage was much less severe than it could have been.
"Somehow, some way, someone happened to be walking by and saw there was a fire inside and called 911, and the fire department was there five minutes later," Payne said. "Otherwise it would have been a lot worse."
While the Lakeview Byron's was closed for repairs, Payne kept busy grilling outside the stand to keep customers coming.
He also noticed an uptick in business at the second Byron's location, 1701 W. Lawrence Ave., during the Lakeview closure.
"It shows a certain amount of loyalty, and we were pretty happy about that," Payne said.
Named for original owner Byron Kouris, Byron's opened in Lakeview in 1975 after Kouris and Payne decided to pair up, Payne recounted in a 2015 video.
RELATED: Step Aside, Southport — There's A New Up-And-Coming Corridor In Lakeview
"I used to deliver milk to a restaurant he owned, and he and I had conversations and became really good friends," said Payne, who continued to run the restaurant after Kouris died in 2012. "He was like my big brother."
Mike Payne shares the history of Byron's Hot Dogs in this 2015 video for Vienna Beef:
Byron's claim to fame is its Dogzilla, a half-pound hot dog that Vienna Beef makes specially for the stand. For those looking for a smaller dog, regular-size and jumbo dogs are available along with polish sausage, bratwurst and corn dogs.
The stand has Chicago staples like Italian beef sandwiches, and burgers like the Lord Byron (a quadruple cheeseburger) and the Punisher, a double cheeseburger topped with gyro meat.
Its grub has been ranked among the best in Chicago and the country for years, winning "Best French Fries in the Nation" from GQ magazine in 2009. Last year, Byron's snagged the title of "the most authentic Chicago hot dog" in a Thrillist article that places Byron's in the exclusive company of Superdawg, Hot Doug's, Wiener's Circle and Murphy's Red Hots.
But the biggest honor, for Payne, was serving his hot dogs to former President Barack Obama in a 2010 visit to the White House.
"Everything came together like a miracle," Payne said of the visit. "I got to meet [Obama] and shake his hand. I'll keep that with me forever.
Byron's is the first to reopen of three Lakeview eateries that suffered fires in recent months. Diner Grill closed on Christmas and has yet to reopen, and a large fire broke out at ROCKS Lakeview in February.
