No more Chili Man: Charlotte’s most famous hot dog vendor to retire.
The owner of the beloved Chili Man hot dog cart in uptown Charlotte is putting away the grill and retiring from the street.
Victor Werany, better known as “Vic the Chili Man,” made the frank announcement on his business’s Facebook page Monday morning. The decision was made with his wife, he said. Werany says the job has been physically taxing.
“The daily abuse of my body has finally caught up with me. My knees scream, my ankles swell and my hip seems to do this awesome thing where it pops out of joint and immobilizes me,” he wrote on Facebook.
According to a 2015 Charlotte Observer profile article, Werany, a native of Middletown, New York, moved to the Queen City in 1995 with his wife, Tara. He previously worked as a comedian, chef, camp counselor and a bar manager before his wife came up with the street cart idea, the Observer previously reported.
His hot dog cart was found at the corner of South Tryon and Fourth streets in uptown Charlotte. The Chili Man has been on his regular winter break but said this week he isn’t coming back.
He’s been offering up creative takes on beef and veggie hot dogs for more than 15 years. His lively personality and funny banter with customers — often waiting in a long line just to order — became just as famous as Werany’s concoctions like the “Frito Pie Dog,” “The Life Changer,” and the “Naco Dog.”
He counts thousands of uptown office workers, Panthers players (like Cam Newton) and well-known businessmen like Hugh McColl among his customers.
Two years ago, Chili Man ranked first in the nation on Money magazine’s Top 10 list for “Hot Dog Joints,” based on an algorithm that included the number of Yelp reviews as well as Yelp’s star-rating system, according to the magazine. The magazine and Yelp chose no more than one hot dog establishment per state for the Top 10.
And in 2017, Charlotte magazine named Werany a “Charlottean of the Year.”
Barely an hour after Werany’s announcement to retire, dozens of users commented and shared the post, mourning the end of one of their favorite local eateries.
“Well. There goes the only Hot Dogs I would happily or willingly eat. So happy for him, but man, it’s a loss for Uptown and all of Charlotte,” wrote one woman.
On Facebook, Werany said that while he is not looking to hire employees or pair up with a business partner, he is willing to entertain offers to purchase Chili Man and is willing to remain the face of the business as well as a consultant.
“I don’t think that this is the end of Chili Man. I think it is the first step in the next phase,” he wrote.
Alluding to the possibility of selling, Werany wrote: “Are the recipes for sale? I guess so.”
Werany said that he will also continue the fundraising event called SHRED (Skaters Helping Realize Extraordinary Dreams), which benefits local families with children born with Spina Bifida.
This story was originally published February 24, 2020 at 11:13 AM.
