Hounds Hot Dogs and Gyros is already gaining popularity in Parma
Heights. The new hot dog vendor, located at 6851 W. 130th St. in the Ambiance
parking lot, is a small drive-thru place that's big on taste.
The owner, Gus Likos, said the entire building is approximately
11-by-17 feet.
Businesses like the car dealerships in town, call ahead and order
lunch for the employees and Likos has it ready and waiting at the window when
they pull up.
Likos' family owned hot dog vendors in downtown Cleveland, but
Likos noticed there wasn't anywhere in town that had hot dogs like his. So, he
bought the small building and began selling his kind of hot dogs.
His chili dog is known as his Cadillac. A very popular hot dog
with a tasty chili poured on top. He also has polish boys, sausages, gyros and
this summer he wants to start selling ice cream, too.
Alan Sartschev of Parma said, "You want good eatin' come here."
See Article here on Cleveland.com
CHEAP EATS . . .Plain Dealer
By Joe Crea, Northeast Ohio Media Group
on July 28, 2009
If you're hankering for something down to earth (and cheap), and your trek takes
you in the vicinity of the Southland Shopping Center in Middleburg Heights, dash
across West 130th Street to Hounds. Hot dogs and gyros are the calling card at
this little free-standing drive-through, but on a recent Wednesday I enjoyed a
couple of summertime specials: the Italian sausage combo ($4, including your
choice of chips and a 12-ounce canned soft drink) and a pulled pork sandwich
($5.75, with a side of potato salad). Portions were good sized: The tasty
sausage link lapped over the ends of the buns, and by most measures the
reasonably flavorful pulled pork sandwich was jumbo. It was served with
commercial-quality potato salad.
See Article here on Cleveland.com
Parma Observer
September 1, 2010
Call Out The Hounds
by Daniel P. McCarthy
Be it ever so humble, there are few things more All American than the beloved
hotdog. What would a day spent watching America's Game be without at least one
hotdog, perhaps smothered in Stadium mustard? When we find something to be
spectacular, we don't shout "hamburger", or "pizza" do we? Cleveland has always
been underrepresented when it comes to hot dog establishments, in my opinion.
During my life in Parma, I don't recall even one hot dog joint, so I'm happy to
say that now we have at least two: this article will focus on one of those.
As you drive on West 130th. St. past Southland Shopping Center, across the
street is a smaller strip shopping center, and in the middle of the parking lot
you will notice a tiny, colorfully decorated building. Don't be deceived by the
tiny size of this place- this is the one and only Hounds Hot Dogs (so far). Gus
Likos and his wife Teresa started this business in 2009. It has been nothing but
hard work, as running a small local business always is, but the benefits of that
struggle are already obvious to behold, as a steady stream of customers pull up
to this delightful drive-up eatery, and they all drive away with the look of
sheer anticipation on their faces.
Gus insists on selling only all-beef hotdogs, and for those who don't know,
there is a major distinction between "beef hotdogs" and all-beef hotdogs. Just
try a "beef hotdog" and compare it to an all-beef hotdog, and the difference
will be obvious. So much more is on the menu here. There are Polish boys,
Italian sausage with grilled onions and peppers, Gyro with homemade tzatziki
sauce that you just won't believe. Soup, chili, multiple side dishes, beverages,
and even old fashioned ice cream- they've got it all! Something else which is
unique is that they feature daily specials which change from month to month. On
a Wednesday for example, you can experience a Jumbo Pulled Pork Sandwich with
potato salad for a paltry $5.75. I could go on and on. Because of the small size
of their building, their operating costs are a fraction of other much larger
places, and they are able to pass those savings on to their loyal customers, and
their very low prices are evidence of that.
First and foremost, they are absolutely obsessed with the quality of the
ingredients in their food. From the cucumbers in the gyro sauce to the kind of
mustard on the all-beef hotdogs, incredible care goes into every aspect of what
they sell. The proof of how effective this wise strategy is became obvious to me
when I witnessed one customer after another drive up to the double windows, and
every one of them greeted Gus and Teresa like they were family. Every customer
seems to have their favorite item; Melissa from Parma told me that her husband,
a truck driver, goes completely out of his way on his route during lunch just so
he can get the Italian sausage (let's hope his boss is not reading this).
Like most immigrants who come to the United States, Gus has an extremely
interesting story. He was born in Piraeous, Greece, a port city near Athens. It
seems that his parents owned and operated a legendary Greek/French restaurant in
Africa, and when a dictator took over the country, they were forced to flee,
literally with the clothes on their backs. They came to America, where they had
to start all over again from scratch. Gus moved here in 1973, and he studied
engineering at Tri-C. His cousins were already established in the hot dog
business in downtown Cleveland, where they operated many hot dog carts. Gus
became involved then, and before you know it, many years passed and he was fully
committed to the business.
Hounds Hot Dogs is a truly local business, my favorite kind of business to
promote in this hyper-local paper, and you can be assured that when you spend
your money here, you are eyeball to-eyeball with the owner, the quality of the
food is just spectacular, and the money that you spend will not be whisked away
to some far off corporate headquarters, but more rather will stay here where it
can do the most good for our community. We are indeed very fortunate to have
small businesses like this in our own community, and it has been my extreme
pleasure to support them, and I urge you to do the same. The address is 6851 W.
130th. St., and they are open until 7:00 p.m. They can be reached at
216-235-7085.
See Article here on ParmaObserver.com
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