Williston Wire: The Best Story May Be The Chicago-Style Hot Dogs

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Williston Basin Eyecare breaks ground: 60,000 square feet; five optometrists.

First International Bank celebrates grand opening of new Williston facility; off the bypass. Apparently, taking an idea from the big bank in Watford City, the band's CEO is building an Outlaw Bar and Grill behind the bank. Okay.

ONEOK celebrates opening of new projects: Stateline II and the Bakken NGL Pipeline.

Garbel's Furniture in Crosby named regional business of the year, 2013.

Rich Vestal named Entrepreneur of the Year. His one-man Red River Mud Company has grown to more than 100 employees. He has quite a story. Worth seeking out.

Meg-A-Latte named best-woman-owned business of the year; also a great human interest story, and worth seeking out.

Three Amigos is honored as the best new business in the region. Three Amigos has the region's best Japanese sushi. Just joking.

 Wow, Mercy Medical Center now has an emergency medical helicopter; Trent Massie is the pilot.

And another "wow": former Chicago cop opens Chicago-style hot dog stand in a food stand along Highway 85 near Alexander. This is worth a bit more than just the headline. The original story is in The Bismarck Tribune:

Chicago-style hot dogs — the bun stuffed with six ingredients, pickles, peppers, the works and a Vienna all-beef dog — top a varied menu. (Hint: Spread a generous pile of napkins on your lap first and hold the thing with both hands.)

Hot dogs take the menu lead, but pita-wrapped gyros sandwiches are the customers' top pick, they said.

So that's a bit of surprise, but the whole gig has been a surprise, they said.

Their location is pretty much ideal, right alongside Highway 85, next to the gigantic Patriot Fuels truck fueling station not far from Alexander. "Those pumps are our biggest ally," Hackett said.

Even so and even with thousands of trucks on the highway and hundreds pulling into the truck fueling stop, they had to build their customer base one adventuresome soul at a time.

"We thought we would get rich quick, but we had to put in the time to build up a base. These guys are skeptical about eating at these kinds of places," Hackett said. He said their food stand was inspected four times last year by the State Health Department, without one problem noted in the reports.

Construction begins on North Gate Apartments in Williston, a 300-unit upscale community in Willistion: 12 buildings on about 20 acres at 42nd Street East.