Feb. 15, 2006

The Sauce on Gulla's Hot Dogs

Patrick will be running Gulla's Hot Dogs, located at 16 W. William St., while mom, Mickey, is here to help-out on occasion.

Necessity can be the mother of invention, but sometimes it just creates good food.

Joe Gulla opened the first Gulla's Hot Dogs in Bellaire, Ohio, 76 years ago after being laidoff from his coal-mining job and having eight children at home.

Three weeks ago, the second store opened at 12 W. William St. -- the former home of the Pizza Villa -- in downtown Delaware. "Our daughter lives south of Delaware and Patrick lives on Sawmill," says Mickey Gulla, wife of Joe's son Duane. "So we started looking for a place to open another hot dog stand in the Columbus area and found this location."

Duane and Mickey and their children -- Donna, Paul, and Patrick -- own the operation but Patrick will be in charge of the day-to-day operations. "Our entire family is in the hot dog business," says Patrick.

And they are good at it.

"In a lot of ways we're just like Joe," says Mickey. "We don't care if you have money or not. We just want to offer you a friendly, family atmosphere."

Patrick adds, "We offer good food at a fair price and I think the community -- including Ohio Wesleyan -- will embrace it." Good food at a good price was proven true last Thursday while enjoying a Gulla hot dog, fries and fountain soda for $4.25.

The Gulla's Sauce is a unique "secret" meatless chili sauce. Joe's father brought the sauce to America from Naples, and it became a staple around the Gulla household. A visitor thought it would be good over hot dogs and a Bellaire tradition was born. A Bellaire librarian who was not willing to go on record says, "They are good hot dogs."

Librarians would never lead you astray. Nor would former Ohio State standout and current Tampa Bay Buccaneer Joey Galloway, who has a small shrine in the Delaware store. "Joey was raised on our hot dogs," says a beaming Mickey.

If Galloway was to return to Gulla's Hot Dogs, odds are that he'd have one of their two staples -- the Gulla hot dog or the fish sandwich. The Gulla hot dog contains mustard, onions, and the Gulla sauce, while the fish sandwich has the Gulla sauce on a deep-fried fish plank. "Some people love the Gulla sauce on their fish sandwich," says Mickey. "Not me, I prefer just plain ketchup." Gulla's also offers a kraut dog, slaw dog, cheese dog, sloppy joe dog, and sloppy joes that range from $1.50 to $2.

Side items include fries, fries-n-gravy, onion rings, cole slaw, chili cheese fries ranging from $1.25 to $3. Chili and vegetable soup are also available and on Friday, Gulla's Hot Dogs offers a fish and chips special for $4.

The Delaware location is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and is closed on Sunday.

-- Toby Boyce