Chris' Hot Dogs

Chris' Hot Dogs on Dexter Avenue in downtown Montgomery, Alabama, has operated from the same location since 1917, making it one of the oldest continuously operating restaurants in the American South. The restaurant was founded by Greek immigrant Gus Katoulas, whose establishment adopted the name 'Chris' for commercial purposes, and the hot dog preparation that defines the menu has remained essentially unchanged for over a century: an all-beef hot dog in a steamed bun, dressed with the house chili sauce, mustard, and onion. The restaurant's address on Dexter Avenue places it at the center of Montgomery's historical landscape—the Alabama State Capitol is visible from the front door, and the street was the site of significant civil rights marches and events in the 1950s and 1960s. Chris' itself has historical distinction as a restaurant that served a racially integrated clientele during the era of segregation, an unusual and significant fact in Alabama's mid-20th-century dining history. Among the famous visitors the restaurant served are President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who stopped in during a campaign trip to Montgomery, and Hank Williams, who was a documented regular patron in the years before his death in 1953. The hamburger steak, pimento cheese sandwich, and banana pudding extend the menu beyond the signature hot dog, but the all-beef hot dog with chili sauce remains the reason most visitors make the trip to 138 Dexter Avenue. The dining room is modest and essentially unchanged: counter seating, a few tables, and decades of accumulated community memory. Hours run Monday through Saturday with the restaurant closing in the early evening; closed Sundays. The location integrates naturally into a broader Montgomery historical tour that includes the Alabama State Capitol, the Rosa Parks Museum, and the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, all within walking distance.