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$1 Hot Dogs At Wiener's Circle This Evening Thanks To Chicago Dogs Baseball

By Ted Cox | July 28, 2017 2:53pm
 The Chicago Dogs, a new minor-league baseball team, took over the Wiener's Circle Friday.
The Chicago Dogs, a new minor-league baseball team, took over the Wiener's Circle Friday.
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DNAinfo/Ted Cox

LINCOLN PARK — The area has a new minor league baseball team, the Chicago Dogs, and it went straight to the experts on Chicago dogs when it came to promoting the new venture.

And straight to a good deal on hot dogs as well.

The Rosemont-based Chicago Dogs took over the Wiener's Circle Friday, splashing their new logo across the storefront dog stand at 2622 N. Clark St.

The team was also sponsoring $1 hot dogs at the stand from 4-7 p.m. Friday.

"It's the hot-dog happy hour," said Shawn Hunter, one of the owners of the new team.

The Dogs are set to launch next year in the independent American Association, playing in a new $60 million stadium in northwest-suburban Rosemont. Hunter said they were looking for a Chicago location, however, to formally announce they're new in town.

 Shawn Hunter, one of the owners of the Chicago Dogs, said the Rosemont-based team was looking for a Chicago promotion to launch the franchise.
Shawn Hunter, one of the owners of the Chicago Dogs, said the Rosemont-based team was looking for a Chicago promotion to launch the franchise.
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DNAinfo/Ted Cox

"There's not a better home than Rosemont," he said. "It's going to be one of the nicest facilities in the country for minor-league baseball.

"But we also want to have a fan base that reaches all over Chicago," Hunter added.

On that note, what better promotional teammate than the Wiener's Circle? The determinedly acerbic dog stand has used April Fools' Day and Halloween as annual marketing devices, as well as a running feud with President Donald Trump.

"We met through mutual friends," Hunter said of the Wiener's Circle ownership. "They knew what we were thinking about, in terms of the name and the brand, and it seemed like a natural fit."

The American Association is an independent minor league not affiliated with Major League Baseball. With teams across the Midwest, it's known as a place where ballplayers who have been released or otherwise fallen through the cracks can stay in the game and perhaps work their way back to the big leagues. It's also known for its colorful marketing efforts, as with the St. Paul Saints in Minnesota, owned in part by Bill Murray and Mike Veeck, son of the legendary White Sox owner Bill Veeck.