Superdawg's legendary statues go on vacation

CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - The mascots of the popular Superdawg on Chicago’s Northwest Side are taking a bit of a meal break.

Owners removed the hot dog couple Wednesday so they could be cleaned up and repaired.

Maurie and Flaurie are the 12-foot tall hot dog figures that have greeted Superdawg customers since 1948.

Co-owner Lisa Drucker said they’re modeled after her parents, who opened the restaurant near Milwaukee and Devon.

“He’s [Maurie] like mister strongman, mister guy, and she [Flaurie] looks at him kind of demurely,” said Drucker.

She said the last time the pair came down from their perch on top of the restaurant was 25 years ago.

“It’s not their first cleaning, but it is their first take-down cleaning in a very long  time,” Drucker noted.

Customer Hector didn’t even notice their absence when he stopped to pick up a Superdawg and fries for lunch during a trip back to his old neighborhood.

“Every time I’m in town, I first stop, and I can’t do without it…I tried a hamburger once, but the hot dogs overrule,” said Hector.

He wasn’t alone. Many of the customers we spoke to had moved away and were coming back for a bite of nostalgia and didn’t realize the mascots were missing.

Drucker said they should be back winking at customers in about three or four weeks.

If you can’t wait that long, you can always visit their nearly identical twins up Milwaukee Avenue in Wheeling, where Superdawg opened another location in 2010.

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