Told that a average order is four hotdogs, Gov. Dannel Malloy stuck to half that amount Monday at Blackie's Hot Dog Stand in Cheshire. Before he finished lunch however, Malloy had doubled down on the famous relish, ordered a birch beer and then a chocolate shake. His tab came to $8.50.
Malloy made a quick stop at the famed Waterbury Road business to help launch the state's new "Still Revolutionary" tourism marketing campaign. Keeping to a tight schedule, he arrived almost precisely on time at 11:40 a.m. to a flock of reporters and surprised customers.
Blackie's manager Lara Flavin Williams talked with Malloy from across the counter about the 80-year-old business. She confirmed the restaurant is still closed on Fridays, a tradition that dates back to the Catholic prohibition of eating meat on Fridays. "I can understand that," said Malloy, who has an Irish-Catholic ancestry.
Williams said she believes Blackie's was chosen because its a staple in Connecticut. "It's summetime. People have hotdogs on their brain, I hope." During a tour of the kitchen, she said Malloy asked about how they cook the hotdogs and mentioned his wife had been in the restaurant business.
When asked how many hotdogs are served in a week, Williams gave the governor the standard answer, "alot."
Daniel Esty of Cheshire, the commisisoner of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, watched the conversation from a nearby corner in the small restaurant. He noted it was his suggestion for the governor to visit Blackie's. "I've been saying for a long time, 'it's a Cheshire institution.' I had to bring him to my hometown," Esty said.
Malloy began his day at Lake Compounce in Southington and Bristol and from Cheshire he was headed to Putnam Memorial State Park in West Redding.
