While Carolinas’ favorite football team, whose motto is Keep Pounding!, is set to take America’s biggest sports stage in The Big Game this Sunday, JJ’s Red Hots, Charlotte’s favorite Hot Dog and Sausage joint, is featuring a newly-created hot dog aptly named “Keep Hounding” in the Panthers honor.
The Keep Hounding dog takes center stage at JJ’s this week as part of the brand’s nationally recognized Dog of the Week promotion. The masterpiece is a 1/4 pound Sahlen’s hot dog with black beans and blue tortilla chips – a nod to the team’s colors – along with sour cream and cumin dust. It will be available for $4.99 through Sunday at JJ’s two Charlotte locations, its original location in Dilworth as well as its newest restaurant in Ballantyne.
“We are very excited and so proud of the Panthers so we wanted to create a special Hot Dog during this incredible week that has the entire city of Charlotte under its spell,” said JJ’s founder Jonathan Luther. “We took the two words that have become a rallying cry for the team, this city and Panther fans and put our own special spin on it.”
Keep Pounding has become a team mantra in honor of the late player and coach Sam Mills. Mills first used the phrase as a coach in an emotional speech to the team prior to the team’s playoff game vs. Dallas in 2004. He spoke about commitment, dedication to teammates, team effort and never giving up. Mills asked the players to “Keep Pounding,” an edict that resonates 12 years later.
“We look at that saying, the man behind it and our beloved Panthers with such reverence that we knew we’d create something special for this week along those lines,” said director of marketing and brand development Brandy Newton. “It’s a special Hot Dog in honor of a special team. Keep Pounding! and Go Panthers.”
JJ’s, which has swept all of Charlotte’s Best Hot Dog awards in 2015 including the Charlotte Observer’s Readers’ Choice Best of Charlotte 2015 award for Best Hot Dog, is best known for its Hot Dogs but also its hand crafted artisanal sausages, house-made sides and toppings. JJ’s has always encouraged fan-based recipes as part of its Dog of the Week program, which features specially designed and priced Hot Dogs, beginning each Monday.
The JJ’s brand remains on an unprecedented winning streak, including being honored by Fast Casual – for the second year running – in the annual Top 100 Movers & Shakers list. JJ’s was the smallest chain to make the list and the only Hot Dog/Sausage concept to receive the honor.
JJ’s Red Hots is the premier purveyor of “hand-crafted” char-grilled hot dogs and sausages with two locations and several portable vehicles in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The restaurant concept is built on solid, hardworking values and is modeled after venerable establishments like Ted’s in Buffalo, NY, Gene and Jude’s in Chicago, and many others. Still, JJ’s is a true American original featuring house-made, scratch prepared sides and toppings served alongside time tested, revered American brands like Weber’s Mustard, Martin’s Rolls, and Coca-Cola. Perhaps most proudly, JJ’s Red Hots serves smokehouse hot dogs from Sahlen’s Meat Packing Company in Buffalo, NY. Sahlen’s is a 146 year-old company that remains family owned and operated, and makes, in our opinion, the best hot dogs in the world.
