For more than a decade, Carolyn Schumacher’s Weenie Wagon has been a fixture in downtown Seymour — just wait in line for a hot dog at her spot in front of Seymour Lumber and you’ll see plenty of passers-by waving or honking car horns.
But after two years at the location, the Valley icon is in the market for a new spot to base her business.
Schumacher was told at the end of January that she has two months to find a new location.
Tom Tkacz, the owner of the Seymour Lumber and Supply property at 85 Bank St., said he plans to demolish the building at the one-acre site, which he is selling through the Proto Group.
No future plans have been made as to what will be built in the lot., for which the asking price is $1 million.
“Not exactly sure when it will take place, but it’s in the works,” Tkacz said.
Schumacher has been selling hot dogs for 11 years and was displaced from her original location in front of Housatonic Wire after a fire destroyed the business in 2010.
Tkacz offered his property for Schumacher’s Weenie Wagon in the wake of the fire. She has been there for two years.
Seymour First Selectmen Kurt Miller said town officials have been pushing for the demolition and redevelopment of the Seymour Lumber site.
“It’s unfortunate Carolyn’s Weenie Wagon is there, but the land can be developed and the town has to move forward,” Miller said.
So does Schumacher have any leads on new spots?
She has some prospects in mind of where she might move the Weenie Wagon, but nothing permanent as of yet. She is open to all suggestions.
“I’d like to stay in Seymour,” Schumacher said. “But I do have some customers that are checking in Oxford for open lots. I’m taking suggestions, customers even offer me their driveways.”
Robert Douglas, a Seymour resident, said he visits the Weenie Wagon frequently for lunch.
“I’m so bent out of shape that she has to move. I’ll be really upset if Carolyn and I are out of reach,” Douglas said.
Growing up in New York, Douglas said he went to hot dog stands all the time when he was a kid. When he moved to Connecticut he said he was happy he found an even better hot dog stand here.
“I love my customers, we’re like family. So I definitely want to stay in the Valley,” Schumacher said.
Growing up, Schumacher was with her father when she saw a hot dog vendor and all the fun he was having while at work. Since that day, she knew exactly what she wanted to do — have her own hot dog stand.
“I know that I’ll never be rich,” Schumacher said, “but I love coming to work.”
Another of Schumacher’s regulars, Marty Soresino, grew up in Seymour and is now a Woodbury resident. He said he hopes Schumacher sticks around the area.
“I hope she finds a lot quick, I won’t know where to get my hot dog fix from.”