By Steve Patch of the Leader

Go ahead. Pump till your arm cramps.

No amount of mustard can change it today any more than it could 25 years ago. As Port Townsend’s beloved Dogs-A-Foot starts its second quarter century, the fact remains:

The humble hotdog has prevailed – even over “organic righteousness.”

Those are the very words, too. You can read them yourself by way of a yellowed newspaper clipping posted not far from where the Dogs-A-Foot faithful place their orders, there in the shadow of City Hall at the corner of Water and Madison streets.

“In a world of organic righteousness,” reads the letter, penned in 2007 by Port Townsend’s Pam Douglas-Smith, “there exists this funky oasis of tomato-red wooden tables reminis-cent of childhood picnics with multicolored umbrellas that invite playfulness, all served from a caboose-like building straight out of the Boxcar Children’s stories I loved so much as a child.

“Hotdogs and happiness – who could ask for more?”

Snide charmClearly not Paul and Lisa

Fior. Since March, they’re husband-and-wife partners in a particularly public endeavor – trying to keep Port Townsend’s hotdog tradition alive and kicking in the absence of the inimi-table John Sheehan.

You remember Dogs-A-Foot’s iconic founder: the 6-foot-4 Irishman with a head for dog-dressin’ detail and a knack for, well…

“Like somebody

described it the other day,” says Paul, whose friendship with Sheehan goes back 30 years, “‘He always had a little bit of an edge to him.’ And I said, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘He was capable of being charming while still being snide.’”

With that, Paul and Lisa burst into a chorus of laugh-

ter like they’ve been doing it for three decades. And, well, they have. But that’s getting ahead of our story.

It begins in another, more widely known “Windy City,” whence Paul came forth in 1951 with heritage clearly at the fore.

“Italian culture is very food-centered,” says the second-generation immigrant from Tuscany. “There’s a long tradition that goes back hundreds and hundreds of years of real careful food preparation.

“And, growing up in Chicago, I grew up with ‘hot-dog culture.’ We have hotdog stands, like, on every other corner there.”

‘a little daunting’And so it was that half a

lifetime later – after chanc-ing upon a certain dentist’s daughter from Forks when they were both young college grads in summer employ at the Port Ludlow Resort, and after teaming up with her to bring three now-grown daughters into the world –

Paul Fior bought his retiring friend John’s beloved hotdog business.

“But it’s not just a busi-ness,” reminds Lisa. “It’s an institution.” She laughs. “And that’s a little daunting.”

Truth is, adds the missus, Dogs-A-Foot customers never did come just for the dogs, diverse and tasty though they are. “They loved John,” she says.

“So a lot of people would show up and look at me and go, ‘Ohhh.’ And I’d go, ‘I know: I’m not a 67-year-old Irishman. I’m sorry.’” She laughs anew.

‘Quite particular’About the humble hot-

dog, by the way: Paul can remember when it suffered from an almost Pavlovian association with the “rat parts per million” disclaimer so persuasive in those early days of consumer protection. But times have changed.

“Certainly we can still use a lot more supervision and regulation,” says Paul. “But people really do care about quality. The local folks are quite particular, in fact. We had a number of them, especially when we were first getting started, that came by and” – he blurts that friendly laugh – “weren’t too pleased with the results.”

Never have those cus-tomers ceased to be sup-portive, though, Lisa has-tens to add, and Paul nods. “And I feel like we’ve got most of the bugs worked out now,” he says.

Which is not to say the transition is complete, by the way. Still to be restored, say the new own-ers, are their predecessor’s “friends,” as it were – the nearly life-size cloth dolls he’d set up outdoors in typically laidback postures among the real diners.

There used to be eight or nine of them, says Paul. His rag-doll inheritance, alas, was just two: Frank D. Furter and Ms. Polly Unsaturated.

“And she needs a new face,” advises Lisa.

As for the real stars of the show, they’re still being served up in more than a dozen incarnations, say the new owners, and they include not only your basic weiner-and-bun standby and the classic footlong but also Polish and Italian fare, a spicy Cajun variety, New York and Chicago dogs, a Thai favorite, low-fat turkey and even vegetarian.

Enough to keep the new owners in business for, say, another 25 years?

Paul laughs. “I don’t know if we’ll last that long,” he says. “I like to tell people that I’m semi-retired now – which means I only have to work my tail off half the year.

“But we’re definitely in it for the foreseeable future. We’re having a great time.”

CSection

WednesdayJune 30, 2010

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‘Hotdogs and happiness – who could ask for more?’

And thewiener is...

Relishing one fresh off the grill last week is Dogs-A-Foot employee Clair Sarff-Foden, 19, of Port Townsend. “All my friends and I have grown up eating these hotdogs,” says the college sophomore-to-be, who’s lived here since she was 3. “And, now, being able to work here has been just a dream come true. I get ’em free every day!” Photos by Steve Patch

Visiting cousins Ana (left) and Noah Julia dispense with formality last Saturday, June 26, as they commemorate their first time at Port Townsend’s iconic eatery. The 4-year-olds are from Denver and Seattle, respectively.

“It’s not just a business. It’s an institution. And that’s a little daunting.”

Lisa Fior

New owners Paul and Lisa Fior team up at the grill last week. He was a real-estate appraiser in his former life, she the manager of an orthodon-ture clinic.