(This article was originally published in January, 2003. It was updated on Oct 19, 2007.)

Once known as a last-chance eatery for wayward travelers and local ranchers venturing into the nearby orchards and hops fields, The Wienery, the East Sacramento hot dog haven, has celebrated many milestones as one one the city's enduring restaurants.

Nearly 30 years ago, Anne Fox purchased the business originally called The Subway Cafe and began a legacy now continued by her daughter, Cynthia Fox-Vanover.

While many a nearby small business has folded, The Wienery and its moniker "Cuts The Mustard" have endured in two locations with a simple plan. It provides quality variations to the culinary icon - a steamed hot dog served on a fresh bun.

"I can't tell you how many we've sold," says Fox-Vanover with a chuckle. "But we were talking about it the other day. We were in a truck stop restaurant and on the menu it said how many pieces of bacon they'd sold and that if you lined it together it would take you to San Francisco. But who has time to figure that stuff out?"

The Wienery had several previous owners, dating to the 1940s, when it first opened with the original name of The Subway Cafe.

Named after the nearby railroad tunnel, it was the last place to eat before leaving the developed part of town for what is now River Park and Sacramento State University.

Filled with old-style charm and an outgoing owner who served steamed, nine-inch Made-Rite hot dogs in myriad themes, The Wienery was first honored as Sacramento's best hot dog establishment some 20 years ago in an article in a now-defunct section of the Sacramento Bee called Out & About.

The day the article appeared a line formed out the door, and The Wienery's heydays commenced. But its original location, which shared a bathroom with the gas station next door, was limited. Still, its popularity grew nearly exponentially.

When its current locale became available a few years after she bought the place, Anne Fox moved from the ancient, closet-sized space around the corner. It was the first of several potential catastrophic changes all endured despite the tumultuous nature of small business ownership.

When Made-Rite, the original supplier The Wienery's hot dogs went out of business abruptly, Fox turned to Alpine Meats in Stockton, a manufacturer of sausages, hams and frankfurters since 1936. Fox had used the company as a vendor for a grocery store she once owned it Galt. The Wienery has served Alpine Meats' hot dogs since.

The new and current location of The Wienery (715 56th Street) rests in a distant corner of the Elvas Shopping Center. Plenty of businesses have failed, yet The Wienery remains.

"People ask me if I'm concerned when a new restaurant opens," explains Fox-Vanover. "But I've been here through three different delis, so what does that tell you?"

Anne Fox died 10 years ago, leaving 20 years of loyal customers and a legacy of hot dog creations her daughter proudly continues. She began working for her mother tempor
arily in 1990 during a search for a full-time employee and she never left.

From its early days, The Wienery has retained its neighborhood charm, despite its more modern location. Fox-Vanover experimented with Polish hot dogs for a brief span, but she quickly decided serving only steamed hot dogs was sufficient.

"I tried Polish hot dogs, but they didn't do well," she explains. "The regulars, they just want their regular hot dogs. You can't go wrong with chili and hot dogs."

The Wienery serves sandwiches and salads, too. But 150 pounds of hot dogs are delivered weekly, and that's the joint's mainstay. They're served in split hot dog buns, delivered twice weekly by Rainbo Baking Company. Grilled hot dogs and french fries are not offered.

"Then you're a short-order cook," The Wienery boss says. "And I don't want to be short-order cook. People ask how come I don't have fries. I say, 'You want to come back here and make them?' "

Tuesday through Saturday, Fox-Vanover and her two employees, Patti Deutsche and Jen Gonzales, quickly and efficiently maneuver around each other, plucking out steamed hot dogs and adding the requested fixings. Deutsche has worked at The Wienery for nearly five years. Gonzales, a newcomer, is now considered permanent since her name has been added to the wall menu.

"People say I keep 'banker's hours,' " Fox-Vanover says. "But I tell them when a bank is closed, that's when they count the money. So, when I'm closed, that's when I'm doing a lot."

Known mostly by everyone as Cindy, the woman taking The Wienery into its second quarter century arrives around 7 a.m. most mornings, sometimes earlier, and prepares the fresh soup, chili and complementary offerings.

When the late-morning crowd begins to filter in, the soup of the day is hot, the counter is clean, the stools and plain veneer tables are tidy, and the first order is taken.

A basic hot dog costs $2.55, but there are more than a dozen options, including a cheese dog ($2.95), B.L.T. dog ($3.95) and Swiss Saute ($3.95). Chili dogs, a regulars' favorite, are offered in two sizes ($3.95, $4.95). Beans and wieners, a hearty mixture perhaps consumed best with crushed saltine crackers and hot sauce, is also available in two sizes at $2.15 and $3.15.

Each week, there's also a meal deal ($3.95), which includes a hot dog with the works and a cup of homemade soup. And there are specials like Taco Dogs, Chicago Dogs and Saucy Dogs, which are rotated and announced to customers at least a month in advance.

"I don't know a lot of the customers' last names," Fox-Vanover says. "It's all first names and folks who have been coming in for years."    

For a place with four tables, 17 stools and a total seating capacity of 28, The Wienery's reputation far exceeds its hole-in-the-wall stature.

It has been honored by the Sacramento City Council and the California State Legislature, and it's not uncommon to find local politicians and celebrities scarfing down favorite frankfurter concoctions.

The Wienery's longevity, a testament to a good, simple product and quality customer service, has not been lost on Fox-Vanover. Yet, when she first began offering her mother assistance in 1990, she had no intention of being a business owner and working with the public.

She worked in the engineering field in the Bay Area, particularly on the innards of jets.

Now, of course, she works with innards of a different kind, a 60 percent beef, 40 percent, 8-inch frankfurter in a business that is all about customers and a mother's legacy.