On a strip of 1920s bungalows, next door to an abandoned car wash stands a piece of Americana that still shines bright in the neighborhood of South Cumminsville. While the area is most famous for being the childhood home of MLB All-Star Dave “the Cobra” Parker, who would go on to become the first Black athlete to earn a million bucks a year, Mr. Gene’s comes in a close second.
Opened in 1962 by the late Gene Kuester and now run by his son, Don, Mr. Gene’s is an old-fashioned hot dog stand with a past rooted in community.
If you’re lucky, you can place your order with Zerita Andrews, who’s been working here for 60 years. According to a 1998 Cincinnati Post column by David Wecker, Andrews was 14 years old in 1962 when she saw a large crane outside her bedroom window maneuvering into place the tiny steel building that would become Gene’s Sweets and Eats. Four years later, she was working there.
Kuester changed the name to Mr. Gene’s Dog House about a decade later. He was one of the lone White businessmen in this mostly Black neighborhood, but he was also considered a father figure or big brother to many of the kids who lived here. “We love him here,” Andrews told The Enquirer way back in 1980. “If the kids want ice cream and can’t afford it, he’ll have them picking up papers in the yard or something to earn a cone.”
Kuester would also hand out food from his garden and share the spoils of his frequent hunting trips with the community. Kuester died in 2015. By then his son, Don, had already taken Mr. Gene’s over, continuing his father’s legacy.
These days, Mr. Gene’s serves hot dogs representing the many regions that have continually fed Cincinnati. There’s a West Virginia-style slaw dog representing Appalachia, a Chicago dog shouting out the de facto capital of the region, a hot mett for the Germans, and even a cheese coney – although theirs is topped with hot dog sauce instead of Cincinnati-style chili (not that you can tell under all the finely shredded cheese).
The Chicago dog is especially good, made with an all-beef frank and topped with fresh tomatoes, a snappy dill pickle, sport peppers, diced onions, neon-green relish and yellow mustard. But my favorite might be the slaw dog, with coleslaw cooling and sweetening the slightly spicy chili beneath.
Along with hot dogs, Mr. Gene’s also serves an exceptional fish sandwich (keep that in mind during Lent), pulled pork, wings, onion rings and chili cheese fries. As in the old days, you can still order ice cream cones, sundaes and milkshakes.
Since there is no indoor dining, customers often eat at the scattering of picnic tables behind the shop. I prefer eating the hot dogs in my car, watching customers talk to one another as they wait in line and thinking about people like Zerita Andrews, Gene Kuester and everyone else who’s kept this neighborhood institution alive for the past 60-plus years.
Mr. Gene’s Dog House, 3703 Beekman St., South Cumminsville, 513-541-7636, mrgenesdoghouse.com.
Highly Recommended is a weekly spotlight on some of food writer Keith Pandolfi’s favorite finds as he eats his way across Greater Cincinnati. Find more of his recent food writing here.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: This is the best hot dog joint in Cincinnati, bar none
Reporting by Keith Pandolfi, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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By Keith Pandolfi, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
