Third Time Still the Charm for Mustard, the Reigning King of Hot Dog Toppings

JJ’s Red Hots Releases Third Annual Top Ten Hot Dog Toppings List Just in Time for Fourth of July, the Most Popular Hot Dog Day of the Year

JJ’s Red Hots has some advice for anyone planning to serve Hot Dogs on July 4^th, the most popular Hot Dog Day of the Year: don’t forget the mustard, which is still the king of Hot Dog toppings.

JJ’s, the Charlotte-based, award-winning upscale Hot Dog and Sausage brand, which raised national eyebrows last year when it made Fast Casual’s Top 100 Movers & Shakers list for the second consecutive year, today released its third annual study of the Top Ten Hot Dog Toppings, based on four years of the brand’s sales data. According to JJ’s, America loves their Hot Dogs with the following toppings (in order of preference in the past year):

1. Mustard
2. Onions
3. Chili
4. Relish
5. Cheese
6. Bacon
7. Sauerkraut
8. Cole Slaw
9. Ketchup
10. Queso

The normal suspects, mustard, onions and chili remained 1-2-3 for the third year. Relish, cheese, Cole Slaw and bacon also made the list for the third time in a row. Creeping into the list at number nine, much to chagrin of JJ’s president and founder Jonathan Luther, who despises the topping: ketchup. Queso made the list for the first time.

“While I have to live with ketchup for a year, most of this year’s list made sense from a historical point of view,” said Luther. “The surprises from last year – such as pimento cheese, salsa and caramelized onions — disappeared and most of the mainstream toppings settled back into place. Fortunately, we have featured more than 300 toppings since we opened so we have everything to attract old school connoisseurs and more than enough to please even the most demanding palate.”

According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, Americans will consume seven billion Hot Dogs between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day, yet the most popular day of them all is July 4^th, when Americans will consume more than 150 million Hot Dogs, enough to stretch from DC to LA more than five times. Appropriately, JJ’s celebrates its 4^th anniversary on July 4^th, when it will feature an All-American Hot Dog, a virtual Fourth of July picnic on a premium Hot Dog, with Mustard, Relish and Onions, specially priced at $2 all day at both Charlotte locations – Dilworth and Ballantyne.

“We treat every day like July 4^th at JJ’s,” said Brandy Newton, JJ’s director of marketing and brand development, “We couldn’t be more psyched about the future of Hot Dogs, especially ours.”

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.