| UPDATE - A Grantsville eatery with rave reviews is closing after 14 months of operation, featured in a story by the WV Journal.
The businesses Facebook page is announcing its closing.
Jim Sullivan, on Facebook, said "It is with great sadness that Michael and I announce that we will be closing Sull-Dog's in Grantsville Friday, July 17th, 2015 at 7:00 p.m."
"We would like to thank all the supporters and customers over the last fourteen months. The Sull-Dog is not gone forever, just for a while. The current business climate in Grantsville makes it impossible to operate at a profit."
"We will continue to practice our cooking skills at area fundraisers and occasionally doing catering. Again thanks for all the support given to the Sullivan Family this year. - Jim and Michael Sullivan.
Sull-Dog's - Main Street Grantsville
Grantsville Eatery Started With Famed Sauce Recipe
By Jessica M. Karmasek for The State Journal
It's been more than a year since Calhoun County eatery Sull-Dogs opened its doors, and business is booming for the hot dog joint.
The restaurant, located on Main Street in the small town of Grantsville, opposite of the Dollar Store, has become the go-to fast food choice of locals.
Owner Michael Sullivan said he knows just about everyone who comes in the place.
"People come in, and they always see someone they know," he said. "You can't say that about eating out in bigger cities, like Charleston, and I think that's pretty great."
The restaurant is small, but it serves its purpose. There are a handful of tables inside, with autographed photos of rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd and country music stars â Tim McGraw, Reba McEntire and Trisha Yearwood, to name a few â hanging on the walls. Outside, there's a covered porch with a few tables.
Sullivan notes that the outdoor seating is a big selling point in such a small town, where eating options, even typical fast food chains, are virtually non-existent, much less places where you can dine al fresco.
But simplicity is the key, Sullivan said.
"My thing was, when we started, was to keep it as simple as possible," he explained. "When you make things complicated, especially in the restaurant business, the money goes quicker and quicker.
"And being in Grantsville, sales aren't going to be amazing, so you have to keep overhead low."
Sullivan has kept the menu simple as well. Customers won't even find side dishes such as french fries or onion rings.
"If you start bringing extra stuff in, that creates additional costs and people often times don't realize what you have, so then it ends up going bad," he explained.
Not to mention all of the oil he would have to buy.
"You add certain items and then you're dealing with ungodly amounts of oil," he said.
Instead, Sull-Dogs offers more traditional, down-home sides, such as macaroni salad, potato salad, cole slaw and baked beans. It also sells small bags of potato chips.
But at the heart of the restaurant is the Sull-Dog itself.
For a little more than $2, customers can get the signature all-meat frank served with a strip of bacon, famous Calhoun sauce and its coarse-cut slaw.
The sauce â sometimes referred to as the Band Booster Sauce â is well-known throughout the county. Band parents, Sullivan said, would make the sauce and bring it to football games.
It has been a tradition in the county for more than 60 years, he said.
Sull-Dogs' sauce is almost an exact replica, just slightly different.
"In a nutshell, we use hamburger meat, onion, chili powder, ketchup, mustard, vinegar and three cups of sugar," Sullivan said.
While it's a much sweeter sauce than most other hot dog sauces, he said it really compliments the bacon.
The sauce is not only the restaurant's staple, but also its inspiration.
Sullivan and his dad, Jim, had batted around the idea of opening up an eatery together for some time.
Jim, known around town as a jack of all trades, had opened a restaurant â Big Owl's â in the very same location in 1999, but it only stayed open for two years. It was similar to Sull-Dogs, but had no sit-down eating.
Since then, Jim, who was forced to retire from his job at Dominion Gas in Parkersburg in 1994, had been catering and developing recipes on his own, planning his next move.
He knew he wanted to open another restaurant, but he wasn't sure what type of food to serve.
That's where Michael, who was taking some business courses at Glenville State College, came in.
"Basically, late one night, I made a bunch of hot dogs and thought to put bacon on it," Michael said. "Then I made them for some people and they loved them.
"Fast forward a few months, Dad and I were talking about making it a business. So I made him a hot dog. He loved it, and thought it was a great idea. From there, it just steamrolled."
Now, in addition to a variety of hot dogs, customers can get pulled pork sandwiches, subs, wraps and even tacos and burritos. Soft serve ice cream and milkshakes also have been added to the menu.
"There's really no place you can go to, nearby, and grab a taco," Michael Sullivan said, adding that he doesn't want to make just one thing. "I want to bring some items in that people here don't really have access to.
"For me, my goal isn't to make a ton of money. I want to build a name and build a product. And I think we're doing that here."
Sull-Dogs is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It is closed Sunday. The restaurant is on Facebook and on the web at sulldogs.com | 
