Rock City Dogs closes in Bay Shore

It’s lights out for Rock City Dogs in Bay Shore. On Friday, the hot-dog-themed eatery served its last fancy frank.

Rock City Dogs opened in 2021, the brainchild of Steven Vollmer, now an insurance consultant but, in the '80s, a nascent rock and roller whose band, Design for Living, toured the country and cut an album. Other than on legal documents, he still goes by his stage name, Stevie Reno.

Two years earlier, Reno had been flipping through a coffee-table book, "Rock Covers," while he was half paying attention to a Travel Channel episode about the best hot dogs in the country. "I have a great idea," he announced to his wife, Vina. "I’m going to open a restaurant that plays only classic rock from the '70s and serves craft hot dogs."

The whimsical menu played tribute to Thin Lizzy (a dog topped with nothing but mustard and sauerkraut), Chicago (Windy City-style, with "imported" neon relish and sport peppers on a poppy-seed bun) and Deep Purple (topped, of course, with red-beet-tinted pickled cabbage, as well as whipped goat cheese and pink peppercorns); sides included Paul McCartney & Wings, Fleetwood Mac & Cheese, Strawberry Fields salad, T Rex burger and Styx fries.

Reno cited the usual culprits — the increasing price of ingredients, the difficulty of finding staff — along with an acknowledgment that it might have been "a great concept in the wrong location." While the kitchen traded in hot dogs, burgers and fries, prices were markedly higher than at fast food spots because the ingredients, presentation and surroundings were more high-end. "We were caught in the crossfire," he said.

Another restaurant group has already taken over the space, at the corner of Main Street and Fourth Avenue, and customers should look for "an exciting new concept coming soon."