The newest class of hotdoggers are rolling through Albany on their wiener-on-wheels.
Just before 9 a.m. Thursday, Riley Flanagan, a.k.a Relishing Riley, and Bridget Berens, Barbeque Bridget, navigated the 27-foot-long Wienermobile down Albany’s Central Avenue and into WAMC’s parking lot.
Staff and family relished the opportunity to see the driving dog up close.
Like many on the tour, it was Ethan Farison’s first time. The 4-year-old straps himself up with the meat belt in the meat seat — one of six inside.
“What do you think of the Wienermobile?”
“Good,” Farison said.
“What do you like about it?”
“Because it looks like a hot dog,” he said.
“Do you like hot dogs?”
“Yeah,” Farison said.
Soon, more staff and passersby join the party. Nina Price and Tinishea Johnson, who work for the city parks department, can’t contain their excitement. Price jumps for joy.
“I’m so excited,” Price said.
“Welcome to the Wienermobile,” said Sarah LaDuke, producer and host of WAMC’s The Roundtable.
“Is this your first time seeing it?”
“Yes. I’ve seen it in passing, you know what I mean? But, like, I’m technically supposed to be working right now but who could pass this up,” Price said.
“You have to stop by and say hi,” Flanagan said.
“Yes,” Price said.
“I recently saw that they were like, looking for a new driver and stuff. And I was like, ‘what kind of job would that be? That must be awesome,” Price said.
“That's my first thought,” Johnson said.
“Well, today is your guys’ very lucky day. We hand out wiener whistles for people who are seeing the Wienermobile in person. You can stop traffic with them,” Flanagan said.
“Oh, my God, I can. I'm gonna do my flagging,” Price said.
It’s far from the wurst gig.
Relishing Riley and Barbeque Bridget are frank about their decision to enroll in “hotdog high.”
“I was in my senior year of college. I still wasn't sure exactly what direction I wanted to go. And I was honestly having a really bad day. And as I was walking to my club on a Monday night, I was really, you know how Mondays go, and I see the Wienermobile, and I was like, ‘Oh, my God, this is so cool.’ And I walk into my club, and there's an alumnus from my college recruiting for the Wienermobile. And when I saw that, and I heard them talk about it, I was like, ‘There is nothing else better.’ I felt the magic of the Wienermobile myself when I saw it having that bad day. So, I just wanted to continue to spread that joy across, you know, United States,” Flanagan said.
“And then for me, I had known somebody who did it a few years ago, and when I saw the application resurface in January, I gave her a call and asked her how she felt about the job, what her experience was like, and she had nothing but really amazing things to say about it. She said it was the best year of her life. She made the most amazing connections and made the best friends, you know, that she could have,” Berens said.
Since taking on the role of “hotdogger,” they have noticed a new vibrancy to their social lives, saying they’re having “buns and buns of fun.”
And they’re not always the most interesting novelty on what they call the “hot dog highways.”
“Yesterday we saw like a man on a motorbike with like a rabbit helmet. So, like a helmet, but then with, like a rabbit,” Berens said.
“And then he was wearing an all-white outfit, too, so like a white shirt with white pants and then just a rabbit head on top. And we thought that was pretty cool,” Flanagan said.
And we can’t let the hotdoggers go withing grilling them on their favorite Oscar Mayer dish.
“They actually have a new thing, cheese stuffed dogs. The chili cheese stuffed dogs are honestly my personal favorite. You guys have to try it,” Flanagan said.
Yeah, I'm an original, original kind of gal. I like to add a ton of toppings on though, so obviously Heinz ketchup and mustard, then relish and, you know, onions- the works. I love it,” Berens said.
Relishing Riley and Barbeque Bridget will spend the first six months of their year-long tour, which started earlier this month, together before being paired with a new hotdogger. For now, they’re enjoying seeing all the smiles on the road during their red-hot summer.
