From sweet celebratory meals to raucous late-night revelry, The Original Hot Dog Shop in Oakland has been a staple on Pitt’s campus since opening 60 years ago.
With news of the closure coming Saturday night (and confirmation from The Pitt News via the restaurant’s long-time manager), Pittsburghers and Pitt alumni started sharing their favorite stories from ‘The O.’
We asked our Instagram followers for their best ‘O’ story… and they didn’t disappoint! We’ve rounded up our favorites below.
What’s your favorite story from ‘The O’?
@wpxi_trisha: Right after my son was born, my husband wanted food from “The O.” We couldn’t find a parking spot, so I drove around the block (with a newborn) over and over, while he went in to get food.
@saturdaylunchpgh: We had our first date there almost 39 years ago…
@drchacha: I went to the O many times as a high school student in PGH. in College, @rainalf1 and his fellow “Disposable Heroes of HipHopCrisy” bandmate [went] to the O after they opened for the band #arresteddevelopment at a performance in the Strip. It was one of the most “classic Pittsburgh” things we could do after the show.
@lexi_shazer: My husband and I had a celebratory hot dog at the O after the birth of all 3 of my babies at Magee! Guess this is a sign we are done having babies!
@ritay_046: Happy moment when they cooked my fries longer to make them crispy & added no salt… soooooo good!
@em.leedy: We went there as the last stop of our going away party about 2 weeks before quarantine!! Always assumed we’d be back when we went to visit Pittsburgh
@realbert: “I’ll have a small fry please…” comes back with a small basket on a tray overflowing with fries. Best of times, and how we celebrated our engagement 27 years ago.
@melissa.carty.142: When I was in college, Mom and I ate there while passing through the Burgh, circa 1991(?). Mom wasn’t too sure about it but enjoyed the fries. She thought it was too big of a deal for just a hotdog 😂
@jewelblum12: In 2006 I brought my daughter Jonna, who was a high school junior for a college visit to PITT and we had to make our way to the “O” for the most famous eats.
@tres_tracy: I think a whole O pizza in 1990 was $3.00. Countless Oakland nights ended with O pizza and fries.
@dukes05sti: When I was 15, my friends and I were skateboarding all over Oakland, and while we were eating dogs and sharing a large fry, we saw a drunk guy fall down the steps that leads to the bathrooms and he pissed all over himself. I’ll definitely miss the O.
@bizkit_302: I always went there after seeing a show at Club Laga! The best was after Danzig headlines, Hatebreed was the co-headliner then @sixfeedunder_official and the opening bad was Disturbed, believe it or not!
@elizabeth5wells: So many great memories from when it was the smaller, skinny O in my college days, scrounging for change to but a late night order to take back to the dorm through the days of taking my kids for cheese fries.
@skatecatz: I was there on a crowded weekend around midnight in ’94 or ’95 playing Mortal Kombat 2 when two guys got into a verbal shouting match behind me. Then one of the guys pulled out a gun from his winter coat to threaten the other guy. I’ve never seen 55 people leave an establishment that fast and orderly 🙂
@dianedil: I would have never made it through finals without those “Dogs”. Always w Chili & Cheese!
Have your own story from ‘The O’? Share in our comments!
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