All Star Hot Dog Shack reborn as food truck

A restaurant that burned down last year has risen from the ashes as a food truck, which will be parked in downtown Stanley near where the restaurant once stood.

The fire that burned down All Star Hot Dog Shack last Aug. 29 was caused by cleaning rags that spontaneously combusted after the restaurant had closed for the night, said owner Jason Farmer.

The restaurant had opened last May 30, the actualization of a dream for Farmer, and the fire destroyed the building.

"Because we'd left about 10 or 10:30 that night, and everything was fine. The bag of rags had spontaneously combusted," Farmer said.

It took eight months for Farmer to receive money from his insurance company, and then he had to find a new location. He bought the food truck from someone in Knoxville, Tennessee, and he will park the truck next to 105 Main Florist in downtown Stanley. All Star Hot Dog Shack will operate under the same name.

"I'm very excited to be back in Stanley where we started, and almost in the exact same location, so my core customer base will be right here," Farmer said. "I'm nervous, but I am so excited I can hardly think straight. It's a different process. It's a new and exciting process."

All Star Hot Dog Shack will offer the same menu.

"We'll have gourmet hotdogs, specialty hamburgers, grilled bologna sandwiches, grilled cheese sandwiches, barbecue nachos - all the way up from cheese to loaded nachos," Farmer said. "We'll have special plates for special days. I guess we'll call them plate specials, like wing baskets, mozzarella baskets. We're also inventing some new foods, like chili cheese tater tots, chili cheese fries."

Farmer said he is grateful for support from the Stanley community after the fire destroyed his restaurant.

"I am beyond flattered, beyond grateful from the outpouring of support and the community when this hotdog shack burned down," he said. "All year long … It was an uphill battle."

"Just as the Colorado River winds through the rocks and created the Grand Canyon, you have to be persistent and resilient, and you have to chase your dreams," he added. "It would have been so much easier to give up, just to take the money and run, but I'm trying to teach a lesson to my children, that when life gets hard, you persevere."

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: All Star Hot Dog Shack reborn as food truck