Picture of the day - October 29, 2007

The "Dip Dog Stand" turns 50

When I was a very young boy, U.S. Route 11 (Lee Highway) was the primary north-south route through the western portion of the state of Virginia, and it passed right through the heart of every little town along the way. At that time there were numerous motels, "service stations" and "greasy spoon" restaurants everywhere you looked along the highway, and they all enjoyed plenty of business since "Number 11" carried virtually all of the traffic that flowed through the region on their way to points far and wide. Construction began on Interstate 81 in 1957, and by 1971 most of it had been completed. Since I-81 more or less parallels Route 11, all of the "through traffic" switched from the dangerous two-lane highway to the new Interstate at the first opportunity. This mass exodus of traffic soon resulted in the closing of the vast majority of the motels, restaurants and other businesses that had been in operation for many years along the old route. But one little restaurant near the town of Marion managed to hang on... The Dip Dog Stand opened its doors in 1957, the same year that the state highway department broke ground for the construction of I-81. The tiny restaurant's namesake dish was a unique item that was similar to a corn dog, but the "dip dog" was dipped in a special batter, deep-fried to perfection, and then smothered with a mild mustard that gave the "dog" just enough of the right kind of flavor to keep customers coming back for more. And come back they did, and 50 years later the famous Dip Dog Stand is still going strong! Although I have no memories of it after all these years, my dad used to take us kids to the Dip Dog Stand for ice cream every once in a while. Little did he know that his patronage was helping create an icon of a simpler time - a time when Route 11 was the main drag and cheap motels and "greasy spoons" ruled the day. Victims of progress, almost all of those cheap motels and greasy spoons are long gone now, but the Dip Dog is still the reigning king of taste here in southwestern Virginia. If you would like to pay the Dip Dog Stand a visit, you'll find it on Lee Highway (U.S. Route 11) between the Seven Mile Ford and Marion exits of Interstate 81 in Smyth County, Virginia.   Visit the POTD Archives for previous "Pictures Of The Day"!     Submit a photo of your own!            Why I publish the "Picture of the Day"