Hey! Hot Dog Sells Farm Fresh Popcorn At Ruby St: Photos

JOLIET, IL — Since moving to 601 Ruby Street in 1978, Hey! Hot Dog has been known for a small menu of time-honored staples: hotdogs, Polish sausage, homemade BBQ sandwiches and of course, its famous frosty mugs of root beer and black cows. This winter, something else is available, hence the new sign in the restaurant window that proclaims: "FARM FRESH POPCORN SOLD HERE."

Driving along Ruby Street, Joliet Patch's editor recently saw the sign in the window. On Wednesday, I interviewed Hey! Hot Dog owner, B.J. Uedelhofen and employee Lauren Turk. The well-known Joliet restaurant owner also runs Uedelhofen Farms near Shorewood.

He said the farm fresh popcorn was the creation of his 21-year-old son, Logan. In December, Hey! Hot Dog started selling the popcorn at its Ruby Street drive-up restaurant during its normal hours of business, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Hey! Hot Dog sells their farm fresh popcorn kernels in 20 ounce bags for $6 each.

The popcorn is not intended for a microwave. It tastes best if you use a hot air popper or a sauce pan on a kitchen stove, Uedelhofen explained. It took Uedelhofen less than 5 minutes to make a bowl of popcorn on his stove during Wednesday's interview.

"There's no chemicals on the corn," Uedelhofen explained. "This is the first year we are really selling it, and the second year of growing it. It's a yellow butterfly popcorn, once it's on a stove. It's a fall crop, so we harvest it in late October."

"It makes a really good caramel corn," mentioned Turk, who also farms produce in Plainfield.

Uedelhofen said they have been offering the popcorn since December, and it will remain a permanent fixture at Hey! Hot Dog this year and beyond.

"We're hoping to get us through the next harvest, next October," Uedelhofen said, referring to how much popcorn they have in stock to sell at Hey! Hot Dog in 2024. "We'll probably have it for our Shorewood and Joliet wagon."

Every summer, Hey! Hot Dog also sells homegrown produce at its Ruby Street parking lot and at a industrial gravel parking lot along Black Road in Shorewood.

"Oh, it's been great," Uedelhofen said of their customers' response. "We have one guy that comes in, and he just says, 'Popcorn.' He's just coming for the popcorn. I bring him out a bag."

As for everyone else who's intrigued about purchasing their popcorn, "Just pull on up and grab a bag," Uedelhofen said.