Georgia Magazine - May 2024 - 31

Left: Nu-Way Weiners owners Spyros Dermatas (left) and
Jim Cacavias are descendants of founder James Mallis.
Above: Nu-Way's all-the-way hot dog is its most popular.
running the place, " says Habersham, who has owned Willie's
Wee-Nee Wagon since late November. " One day I received a call
from a developer who had purchased the land where Willie's
was located, and he asked if I wanted to take over the business
rather than tear it down. After some heavy prayer, of course I
said yes. "
Not much has changed since Arnell " Willie " and Yvonne
Chambers opened the business in 1975 with a hot-dog cart in
Brunswick. They later moved to the current Willie's location
at 3599 Altama Ave. They both died in 2014, and other family
members inherited the business.
When Habersham purchased Willie's Wee-Nee Wagon, it
was a homecoming for him.
" When I returned, it was like I never left, " he says. " The
smell, the taste, the people-we just picked it right back up. "
Willie's serves 6-inch, all-beef hot dogs in steamed
white-bread buns that arrive fresh daily from a bakery in
Jacksonville, Fla.
" The slaw dog with mustard and ketchup is the most
popular, " he says. " Our cabbage is fresh-cut on the premises. "
The Willie's chili cheese
dog, which is the secondmost-popular,
is served
with mustard, chili and
melted American cheese. The
Bulldog includes mustard,
ketchup, chopped onions,
tomatoes, cheese, coleslaw
and dill pickles.
" Nobody could reinvent
Willie's, " says Habersham,
who also owns Mr. Shuck's
Seafood in Brunswick.
" People in the community
know how Willie's hot dogs
are supposed to taste, and
we're keeping it that way. "
All in the family
Some of Georgia's iconic hot-dog eateries carry on family
traditions.
Nu-Way Weiners opened its first location in Macon in 1918
and has grown to eight stores throughout Middle Georgia.
Current owners Spyros Dermatas and Jim Cacavias are second
cousins of Tommy Mathes, who owns Jimmie's Hot Dogs in
Albany.
" Nu-Way is the second-oldest continuously operating
hot-dog restaurant in the nation, " Dermatas says. " Nathan's
[Famous] hot dogs opened in New York a month before we did,
and we're very proud of our long tradition here in Macon. "
Nu-Way is famous for its red hot dogs.
" They're just like the original Coney Island hot dogs-beef
and pork-colored with food-safe red dye, " he says. " We grill
them on a 360-degree gas griddle with a little bit of charring. "
All-the-way is the most popular and is served with mustard,
chili and onion. Customers can add slaw and/or cheese. The
chili bean dog is the forerunner of the scrambled dog, which also
features chili with beans but is served open-faced.
Dermatas and Cacavias purchased Nu-Way in 1998 and
continued the expansion that began in the 1960s. The original
location on Cotton Avenue burned nine years ago and has not
been rebuilt.
" The spelling of 'weiner' was intentional, " Dermatas says.
" Following on the spelling of 'Nu-Way,' when the sign went up
on Cotton Avenue in 1937, that's how we spelled wieners. It's
memorable. "
Another long-standing hot-dog restaurant, Jimmie's Hot
Dogs in Albany, was founded in 1949 by Jimmie Baltas.
Mathes bought the original Jimmie's store in 1992 from a
relative.
" Then the only menu item was chili dogs, served with
mustard and chili, with or without onions, " he says. " Now we
offer more combinations of hot dogs that can include slaw and
cheese. ... But we don't include ketchup unless you ask. "
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