Gracie's Hot Dogs

There was a place right off exit 70 on the LIE that I always stopped at when my wife and I ventured to the Hamptons. Grace's hot dog stand in Manorville. It started as a hot dog truck serving passersby in the 70s and 80s, and they got so popular that they transitioned into a brick-and-mortar restaurant. It served so many that lines would be out the door during the peak of summer. The best part is that you could eat indoors or at one of the picnic tables outside. 

The service was great, and everyone, including the staff, was so happy to be there; you might even run into someone you met the last time you stopped by; it was what people coined a "Must Stop."

For years, we would tell people who didn't know about it. We even discussed what we would order as we got closer to heading out to the Hampyons, but one day it was gone. We saw it had closed for good. Both my wife and I became so angry at what we just witnessed. How could this icon be taken from the community without even a whisper? 

As it turns out, there had been things going on in the background for years that we never knew about, like zoning issues. This was a major problem. It might have been so big that the owners saw no way out of what could have been a very expensive court battle. So they did what anyone else would do: they sold the property in 2002 for $1.3 million. This allowed them to move and retire to Florida. Unfortunately, her retirement did not last that long; she passed away seven years later. 

For the next few years, my wife and I would pass that spot, look at each other, and talk about Gracies with fond memories and how amazing the dirty dogs were. To this day, I have never found a hot dog better than what was served at Gracies. 

Don Youngner