Minnesota Then
George Weckman begrudgingly took advantage of his opportunity to start his life over. The former Sandstone Federal Correctional Institute inmate was once so afraid of his impending release he publicly petitioned to have his parole denied. Despite his tumultuous past, the people of the Twin Cities welcomed him with open arms. He rewarded their faith by becoming a celebrated local business owner and downtown St. Paul mainstay for almost thirty years.
Weckman was born in Creston, Iowa in 1951. While still in high school he served time in a juvenile detention center for driving the getaway car during a bank robbery. He was denied parole, and after getting into a fight while incarcerated in an Iowa jail, transferred to Sandstone, MN. While there he became an ordained minister, certified welder, and weightlifter.
In 1978, at the age of twenty-seven and against his wishes, he was paroled. The 5'4" Weckman was reportedly able to bench press 575 pounds.
Soon after his release, he became a bouncer at Earl Montpetit's Tempo Bar and Restaurant in Minneapolis. Weckman later headed a small weightlifting club in the city before becoming a bouncer at the Oz Nightclub in downtown St. Paul, also owned by Montpetit.
While at the Oz he met a man from Chicago who'd recently purchased a New York-style hot dog cart and moved to the Twin Cities area. Weckman convinced him to set up shop in the nightclub's basement. Whatever compelled the man to come to Minnesota didn't pan out, and he eventually decided to return home. In 1979 Weckman bought the cart and a refrigerator full of hot dogs. He eventually took it out of the basement and onto the sidewalk in front of the club.
It wasn't long before Weckman was selling hot dogs full-time. His friends thought he was crazy for giving up a steady income, but he quickly became successful. In his first year of business, Weckman earned nearly $20,000.
After a couple of years of him and protege Joe Keller serenading passersby of the Oz with "[d]on't be a meanie – buy your friend a weenie!" After a couple of years, License Inspector Joe Carchedi recommended Weckman set up his cart in Rice Park, since "[n]obody'll ever bother you there." Soon after his arrival at the new site, two women from the health department gifted him with his signature hat.
"The Hot Dog Man" was born.
He gained local fame as an extra in a couple of movies filmed in the city's downtown. Weckman's cart appears in 1992s "The Mighty Ducks" and the 1996 Arnold Schwarzenegger comedy "Jingle All the Way." With the money he earned from the latter film, Weckman bought a truck to haul him and his hot dog cart to work. He affectionately called it, "the truck that Arnold bought."
Despite a rising local celebrity status, Weckman continued to work hard, often starting his day at 6AM and working until 2:30AM to accommodate the last-call crowd. He took one day off to rest – usually Monday. He believed the most effective way to build a business was to ensure his customers knew he was always there. Even during the coldest of Minnesota winters, Weckman could be seen outside standing on folded cardboard and doling out dollar hot dogs, or the $2 Polish "Big One," to hungry customers.
In 2008, Weckman, now the owner of five carts, decided it was time to retire. He sold them all to Keller and moved to Red Wing to live with his daughter Jennifer. On December 3, 2009, at the age of 58, he passed away due to heart failure.
Through hard work, a dedication to his craft, and commitment to his customers, George Weckman overcame a rough start to life, one that by his own admission was self-inflicted, to become the hot dog man for the city of St. Paul. It was a label he wore with pride.