East Village & Lower East Side

Food & Drink

Japanese-Style Hot Dog Shop Giving Away Free Franks at St. Marks Place

October 29, 2013 8:37am | Updated October 29, 2013 8:37am
Japadog Hot Dog Giveaway
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EAST VILLAGE — There will be such a thing as a free lunch on Tuesday.

The East Village hot dog shop Japadog will give away free frankfurters Tuesday to celebrate selling their 1 millionth hot dog, manager Hideki Aizawa said Monday.

"It's a good way to connect with new people," Aizawa said. "We've had a lot of first-time triers."

Known for hot dogs topped with items like seaweed, daikon and teriyaki sauce, Japadogs made from Berkshire pork usually cost $2.89, but Japadog started handing them out gratis on Friday and plan to continue the giveaway from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday.

A line of customers waiting for a free hot dog stretched out the door of the 30 St. Marks Place eatery on Monday afternoon.

"This is so good," said Lem Abay, 32, of Brooklyn. "I'd pay for this."

Japadog started with a hot dog stand in Vancouver in 2005 and has since opened six brick-and-mortar locations in Canada and the U.S. The East Village outpost opened in January 2012.

The 1 million hot dogs sold milestone represents sales across all of Japadog's locations, Aizawa said.

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