Award-Winning Hot Dog Restaurant Partners with Chartwells Higher Education Dining Services
JJ’s Red Hots is about to offer college students a Masters Degree in the art of handcrafted Hot Dogs. The Charlotte-based Premium Hot Dog brand, which was recently honored by Fast Casual as one of 2014’s Top 50 restaurants, announced a partnership with Chartwells Higher Education, a division of Compass Group North America, to put JJ’s Red Hots award-winning brand on college campuses.
“JJ’s is impressive in every aspect of its business and we are thrilled to add them to our portfolio of category leaders,” said Nicole Hatfield, director of brand development with Compass Group North America. “They are a hip brand and their commitment to quality and excellence is unmatched. We are sure they are going to be an immediate hit at the higher education institutions we serve.”
Until recently, JJ’s had been a well-kept secret, yet highly adored in Charlotte, where it has restaurants in Ballantyne and Dilworth. JJ’s regularly nabs ‘Best Hot Dog in Charlotte’ awards, but at the recent National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago, JJ’s raised some eyebrows when it made Fast Casual’s 2014 Top 100 Movers & Shakers list. Not only was JJ’s the smallest and youngest brand on the list, they were the only Charlotte-based brand and the only Hot Dog/Sausage concept to make the list. And they are well positioned for growth.
“JJ’s is extremely excited for this opportunity as the value and portability of our core products will resonate very well with college students on the move. I can already envision students eating our hot dogs while zipping around campus on their skateboards,” said Jonathan Luther, owner and founder of JJ’s Red Hots. “The high energy of a university setting is right in our sweet spot, because we like to have fun with our brand and we don’t take ourselves too seriously – except when it comes to making world class hot dogs and sausages.”
JJ’s director of marketing and brand development Brandy Newton loves the idea and what the partnership means to JJ’s marketing: “The initial plan is to engage the students in the creative process and ‘crowdsource’ ideas using social media. We think this will also help with our marketing efforts as 100% of the student body is engaged in social media and online activities.”
JJ’s plans to open its first location on the campus of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton this summer with a customized menu and a special FAU DOG that will be designed specifically for the public university.
JJ’s Red Hots is the premier purveyor of “hand-crafted” char-grilled hot dogs and sausages 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 Tabasco, Weber’s Mustard, Martin’s Rolls, Coca-Cola and Mt. Olive Pickles. Perhaps most proudly, JJ’s Red Hots serves smokehouse hot dogs from Sahlen’s Meat Packing Company in Buffalo, NY. Sahlen’s is a 143 year-old company that remains family owned and operated, and makes, in our opinion, the best hot dogs in the world.