Sharing a northern tradition with Southern customers

For those who wonder what a Yankee Hot is, that question has finally been answered. It’s a hot dog from New York

Mark Rutzen, founder of Yankee Hots Café at 637 Washington St. in Eden, said he gets that question quite frequently.

“We get a lot of people coming in here asking ‘What’s a Yankee Hot?’ and we tell them: it’s just a hotdog we brought down from Buffalo, New York,” Rutzen said. “It started off as a joke, really, but the name was catchy and it stuck. A lot of people told me I couldn’t have a name like that in the South. Well, I’m a stubborn Yankee – I wanted to prove them wrong.”

Yankee Hots Café is an eatery that offers selections like hotdogs, sandwiches, wraps, soups and salads. Rutzen said he is constantly looking for new and better sandwiches and wraps, and customers are welcome to submit their own ideas for specials on their comment cards.

“If customers tell you what they’re willing to buy, I guess you better listen to them,” Rutzen said. “We welcome any suggestions, good or bad, and I’m even getting ideas for next week’s specials from those cards.”

Rutzen said this is a way for the restaurant to stay fresh, and for customers to avoid getting “burned out” on his menu items. He will have new blackboard specials every day, along with four or five $5 combos which are available anytime of the day.

“I want to expand with different sandwiches, salads and wraps, but also keep the prices affordable,” Rutzen said. “I know what it’s like to only have $5 in your pocket to spend on lunch, and you want to get the best food you can for your money. You will not come in here and see a sandwich for $10 or $12.”

Rutzen has three other partners in his business: Bret Rakfeldt, Chinera Rakfeldt and Pamela Denton. Although they are from Burlington, N.C., they said Eden welcomed them into the community as if they lived right up the street.

“I really like the look of the town – that was the first thing we fell in love with,” Denton said. “When you walk out the door and look down the street, it’s got that great small-town appeal. The people are also some of the friendliest people you could ever meet.”

Denton said she and her partners didn’t have to put in much effort to get people into their restaurant. They unlocked the doors, turned on the “open” sign and people just started walking in.

“We haven’t really done much advertising yet, and we’ve had a fair amount of people who just came in when we opened,” Denton said. “It’s definitely not a bad start, and we hope to see it just grow from here.”

Rutzen said if things go well with this restaurant, he plans to expand in the future.

“I’ve had this concept in my mind for a long time, and in pulling this together recently, I’ve realized that it is possible to franchise the brand Yankee Hots,” Rutzen said. “I would love to go to some other small towns in the area like Reidsville or Roxboro, but I do want to stay away from the bigger cities. You don’t get the support in a bigger city that you would get in a smaller one like Eden.”

Rutzen would aim his franchise at families who wanted to get into a small business, like his family.

“They could have a good business and offer good food at reasonable prices,” Rutzen said. “I’d like to be able to present that to people, and maybe it will open up jobs in the future for other people.”

The restaurant will also offer soft serve ice cream, once it updates its equipment, which will allows Rutzen and his staff to serve shakes, sundaes, cones, floats and flurries. There are also plans to open a flavored coffee bar. Rutzen’s daughters will make a special appearance giving away cookies and cocoa at the Olde Leaksville Nighttime Christmas Parade on Nov. 27 at 6 p.m.

Yankee Hots Café is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For questions or orders, call (336) 430-8122.