‘Phil’s Dog Shak’ celebrating 20 years in business

RIVERTON, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) -

A hot dog stand in Riverton has stood the test of time, and even the test of restaurant shutdowns last year. The stand’s owner reminisced and shared her hopes for the future.

After 20 years slinging hot dogs and supporting local sports in Riverton, Phil’s Dog Shak has definitely made it past the 7th inning stretch, and the owner says they’re hoping for 20 more.

Co-owner Blaine Stafford stated, “We have had a great 20 years, we’ve had construction on Main Street, we’ve had the eclipse, we’ve had more construction on Main Street, she joked. “We seem to survive it all and the community’s good to us, and we try to be good back.”

Blaine and her husband bought the shack when their kids were young, and have always supported local sports teams from doing a soccer team dog of the day and letting kids help create the menu.

“Each individual senior on the football team comes down they get to make whatever they want, they get to name it what they want, some of them are quite unique. Each one’s just named after them for a week and you get to come to the counter and you get to order the Gantenbeim, or the Cain,” added Stafford.

The soccer team has foot long Friday, as long as they get a water to stay hydrated, and the kids enjoy taking part and spending time there on Main St.

“Growing up here myself I knew some of their parents and their grandparents, but it’s really just been a place for any of the kids in the county, but mainly RHS, Wind River, and Shoshoni. They just come hang out, get lunch,” Stafford noted.

She’s especially thankful for the support after all the unknowns that came with last year. “A lot of small town businesses expected to take hits. They expected to not have support and I can’t say that, I can’t say that in any way. I feel that small towns are coming back, we’re reviving them.” She added that the importance of learning to shop locally and businesses supporting each other is a step in the right direction. Whether that support comes through a tag on social media, or a purchase on the street, she’s hopeful we can keep small businesses alive.

“We have another good 20 years in us, another great group of kids coming up that need a place to hang out and someone to support them,” Stafford emphasized.

Phil’s Dog Shak is now open for the season every day from 11 to 2.

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