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Byron's Hot Dogs Closed For Repairs After Fire

By Ariel Cheung | May 3, 2017 11:56am | Updated on May 3, 2017 12:33pm
 Byron's Hot Dogs closed Tuesday after a small fire.
Byron's Hot Dogs closed Tuesday after a small fire.
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Screenshot/Google Maps

LAKEVIEW — A fire that broke out at Byron's Hot Dogs has temporarily shuttered one of the city's most beloved hot dog stands.

The eatery, 1017 W. Irving Park Road, will be closed until further notice, according to its Facebook page. Its second location, 1701 W. Lawrence Ave., remains open.

The fire was reported around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. One apparent observer said on Twitter that no flames were visible from the street.

The fire was small, and Byron's suffered minor damage, owners said. They hope to reopen in about a week.

Named for original owner Byron Kouris, Byron's opened in Lakeview in 1975 after Kouris and business partner Mike Payne decided to pair up, Payne recounted in a 2015 video.

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"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 cheeseburgers 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 joins the list of Lakeview eateries currently closed due to fires. Diner Grill closed on Christmas and has yet to reopen, and a large fire broke out at ROCKS Lakeview in February.