Superdawg completes its suburban home
Even though Superdawg's Wheeling location opened January, the iconic drive-in felt naked without its famous mascots, "Maurie" and "Flaurie."
It took a few extra months, but the 15-foot-tall frankfurters finally assumed their rightful position on top of the Superdawg drive-in Thursday morning.
Superdawg's original location, at Milwaukee and Devon avenues in Chicago, opened in 1948. The husband-and-wife owners, Maurie and Flaurie Berman, put up two giant hot dog statues on the roof of the establishment and nicknamed them after themselves.
The statues and the restaurant have since become Chicago icons, and Superdawg has become a nationally known relic of a bygone era of drive-ins and carhops.
The restaurant remains in the family, with granddaughter Laura Berman, 27, managing the Wheeling location. Four generations of the Berman family, including Maurie and Flaurie, both 84, were there for the hot dog raising Thursday.
"It's done exactly the same as the Chicago location. We've been careful to keep everything as identical and authentic as possible," said Scott Berman, Maurie and Flaurie's son and the vice president of Superdawg. The statues atop the Wheeling restaurant are 3-feet taller than the Chicago statues. The extra height was the reason it took artist Dave Oswalt until now to finish up the statues. They weigh 600 and 500 pounds (the male "Maurie" statue, dressed like Tarzan, weighs more than the adoring "Flaurie" statue) and are made of fiberglass and foam.
Maintenance shouldn't be an issue, as the original statues in Chicago have only had to be taken down three times in 62 years for minor touchups.
Carl Solovy, 86, of Glenview, worked in the original restaurant as a cook for more than 20 years and insisted on attending Thursday's event. He's known Maurie Berman his entire life.
"I had to be here for this," Solovy said. "I swear by Superdawg. I feel guilty if I don't eat there once a week. Seeing this brings a warm feeling to my heart."
"I felt the same sense of pride and accomplishment 62 years ago that I'm feeling today," Flaurie Berman said.
Maurie, a World War II veteran, and Flaurie opened the original Superdawg as a summer-only hot dog stand while both were attending Northwestern University in Evanston. After graduation, they liked the restaurant business enough that they stuck with it, and it's stayed in the family for the entire 62 years.
"I had a feeling I'd be doing this," said Laura of her job. "What's not to like about the job? I'm thrilled."
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