Rippers and Relish: The Rutt's Hut Legacy

We visit the renowned Rutt's Hut in Clifton, New Jersey, where we chat with Billy Chrisafinis about the restaurant's history and famous deep-fried hot dogs, known as rippers. Billy shares the story of how his immigrant father and uncles took over the 96-year-old establishment in 1974, maintaining its efficient operations and unique traditions. The podcast explores the familiarity between staff and regular customers, the diverse menu offerings, and the commitment to homemade food. Billy also discusses the challenges of expanding the business, managing social media presence, and the interconnectedness of businesses in Clifton. Throughout the conversation, the importance of product integrity and community in a popular destination location is emphasized.

#RuttsHut
#DeepFriedHotDogs
#FamilyOwnedBusiness

@theruttshut
ruttshut.com

Music: "Ride" by Jackson Pines
jacksonpines.com

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Transcript

0:21

all right what's up everybody welcome back to another episode of greens from the G State powered by the New Jersey Lottery I'm your host Mike ham we're

0:26

here in Clifton New Jersey today at the legendary Reds Hut with Billy chrisop fenus Billy welcome to the show thanks

0:32

for having me absolutely so this is pretty cool we've never done like you know just like a standup at the counter

0:38

kind of episode before so it's like a little bit different than what we normally do but I'm excited cuz I just had a couple few oh no no well now we're

0:45

in and I always see you here and you're always standing I don't even know if your legs actually know how to sit down

0:53

not really when I leave yeah when you leave right just kind of like a flop that's it but uh okay so let's let's for

1:00

people if somehow people are unaware of what rutz Hut is what what you're all about if you can describe it kind of in

1:07

like a 30,000 foot view what is rutz hut rutz hut is uh it's a restaurant that is

1:15

known primarily for its de fried hot dogs but essentially we're a full restaurant we serve anything from rast

1:21

Duck to the famous hot dog yeah but the name rot is synonymous to hot dogs

1:27

that's where most people know is for sure but you know we're more than just hot dogs yeah world famous you know best

1:33

hot dog in America at least you know my opinion I let the customer decide that

1:39

try not to yeah yeah yeah so um I know you weren't there we were talking about this off mic but we were really

1:45

appreciative of ruts doing basically like their first ever popup at jerseyfest now when this episode comes

1:51

out it would be probably like a month ago uh but that was really cool and you know I see you guys doing a lot a lot of

1:58

stuff kind of pushing you know we're trying to get there we're trying to you know thinking outside the box a little bit the box of the walls we're getting

2:05

there slowly yeah so um okay rutz Hut has been around since 1928 1928 and and

2:12

your family uh bought it in 1974 correct correct um my father and uncle's border

2:19

from Ab BR which is the original owner where rut Hut comes from right in 74

2:25

yeah and when like what was the background there like was just you know our family's background sure like you

2:31

know I mean in a sense of like you have like this place at the time you know when you when your family buys it in 74

2:38

it's been a business for almost 50 years at that point like 40 yeah quick math 44 years or whatever

2:45

that is um was your family like in the food service industry or what was the

2:51

let me tell you that the simplest way that I can tell you yeah our fathers are immigrants to the country right so

2:57

essentially myself and my cousins here my sister were were first generation Americans so in those days most

3:03

foreigners came to this country you know they started out as you know the easiest thing that you could do or the simplest

3:09

thing that you could do was be a dishwasher but say right right so that's how initially they got into the food

3:14

business they started out as dishwashers became sh cooks and they slowly

3:20

progressed so they were in the food business before this but as not not as

3:25

owners per se right they were they were workers so my dad and uncles most of them started out as dishwashers because

3:32

s Cooks yeah and you know at some point they you know they saved enough money

3:37

they fooled the money together and you know they were afforded an opportunity to buy a business some sort they they

3:43

weren't working here were they no no they they were working in the places you

3:48

know in the city that's where we were from uh my dad was the only one that was

3:53

had in his own business at one point in time he had a little lunch inet on Grove Street in Jersey City Y uh um the rest

4:00

were just you know s the cooks at that time or whatever the case may have been and you know in those days most of the

4:08

Greeks where we're from yeah were all in the diner businesses sure so a lot of a lot of the diners in this area all

4:14

relatives of ours right so you know when when they said oh you guys are buying a hot dog hayburger spot it looked at like

4:21

oh my sideways yeah not 100% sideways it wasn't it was like you know come on

4:27

diners are the best things you could be in so so hind 2020 most of these diners are gone by the wayside and rut's still

4:35

here right yeah I mean an institution really correct um can we talk a little bit about I'm curious and maybe you know

4:41

this and if you don't that's okay when you said your father and his cousins my

4:46

uncles your uncles so there's four there there's four Partners involved in the establishment okay got it so

4:52

when my dad and cop's dad y they were the first ones to come here and kind of

4:58

scout you know a a broker that sold you know yeah real estate Guy brought them

5:03

there right and you know they they they're the first ones they came checked out the place you know they like what they saw at that time yeah so then you

5:10

know they decided to go ahead with that but they had to physically work here right and the original had to teach

5:17

them ways yeah that's I was curious like the change you know like the business

5:23

has been going for so long at that point and then just kind of keeping the status quo almost they were owners here were

5:30

working here entally while they sold it the original was still here yeah and they you had to

5:37

learn it you we still operate the same way yeah you know 99% of it is the same

5:44

way the only additional thing would be that we now put a chili do on you know whatever but right which I just had

5:50

which was phenomenal operationally it's still the same yeah you know right so from from an operation standpoint you

5:56

know when they talk about fast food establishments if they ever write a book on it ABR

6:02

should be in that book really should because the way this place operates is the same way 96 years man it's it's

6:08

pretty impressive it really is impressive and just kind of like how have you've been here during lunch to

6:14

see like oh yeah yeah we we come here like I'll come here during lunch you know you see how efficient it is correct

6:19

of course yeah and a lot of times we'll be you know at sitting at the bar like have a beer and then it's like you know

6:25

I'll have a dog and a beer and it's it's there you know it's it's a people people are very you know people that sit at the

6:31

bar for the first time just like they do the head spin like how the hell I literally just just you know I didn't

6:36

get dog out of my mouth I gotot dog I think for me the most impressive

6:41

thing of the establishment is the efficiency of it yeah you know and I find it very i' I've been in the food

6:47

business my whole life yeah have had my own places and you know there's no more efficient than this n so my favorite

6:54

thing is like when somebody comes in McDonald's manager comes in with his little college shirt yeah I let him

6:59

matter like you guys have't sit in the shelf and you don't get it at this fast yeah and it it's it's a testament to the

7:06

way that the original set this place up of course it's it's mind bother really yeah no it really is and like like I

7:12

said before to for something like 90 whatever years we know 96 96 years which

7:17

is coming up on 100 which 202 is also crazy um that system still works you

7:25

know like it's part of to me it's like it's part of the experience too you know because like I mean you could always

7:31

there's plenty of places that are institutions in New Jersey cuz the show is all about New Jersey that's all we care about that you know they're

7:39

legendary in their own way of course but and they all have different parts of their experience but that every place

7:44

has its own unique thing exactly but the you know obviously like the food here is the unique thing but then also kind of

7:49

the the speed and the experience and you know you know the way call it out you know it's it's part of the whole it

7:57

makes up the whole aspect of The Establishment yeah so you know when people come here you've been you've come

8:02

here so you understand that so if you would have been here 3 hours earlier is you know four customers in here and then

8:09

all of a sudden I look out the door and I see 30 kids walking down yeah I'm like

8:14

oh the bus just here we go way Valley high school every year they come yeah they do a little field trick to MetLife

8:20

Stadium that's cool so to see that you know I've done it so many times as soon

8:26

as I saw the one teacher I says Wayne Valley she like yep and I was I in my mind I'm like why

8:31

can't you just give us a heads up and say you're coming yeah right a little call ahead no big deal you know mendum

8:36

High School comes that's they come from far then they go to the Ground Zero like every year okay yeah so he'll the one

8:43

teacher he's a huge fan of every time he calls me up he's like I'm coming on this day with one bus I'm coming on this day

8:49

with two buses so I get a heads up so we know but yeah I know Wayne Valley they never call because I see the one teacher

8:55

that I remember for the past I know 10 years or so yeah so but to see how

9:00

efficiently we can get them in and out right that's where the view for me is like when it's all fine and all

9:06

cylinders there's nobody could do better than nothing like it for sure um I'm also interested in the fact that you

9:12

know you said your uncle's bu this business in 74 and you know I've uh talked with so many people you know here

9:20

like that are part of the family correct you know uh a lot of us and there are a lot of you and it's funny to me and I

9:26

always ask this like was we we did uh like candra's Bakery was one of our first ever episodes we've done a lot of

9:31

businesses like that where it's like so family ingrained that I'm always like at

9:38

one point where you're just like when you were a kid you're just like hot dogs like I don't want to do that anymore well how can I explain it to you

9:45

uh so essentially we all mer here right at for the most part most of us in my

9:50

family like my immediate family I think my one sisters you know there's five of us four of the five have word here yeah

9:58

um and pretty much everyone's worth here but as a kid you know being that we

10:05

lived in Clifton you know we went to Clifton High School you know sometime some teachers would always throw these

10:10

comments out there you know I was always like you know whatever I didn't I'm just kind of tuning it out and then I

10:17

realized that you know it's a difficult business as a kid it was very highy you know a lot of pressure here man sure I

10:24

mean a lot of pressure so my first job here was a bus boy and you know my brother and cousins George contact they

10:31

would work on the counter and you know I wanted to work on the counter too I was like I'm sitting upstairs with the ladies that are here 50 years they knew

10:38

more about the restaurant than our fathers did at that time because they were here years exactly they knew every

10:43

customer I mean they knew everything yeah that was our resource like that was my father's and my uncle's resources

10:49

like if there was a question big Jean number 14 I'll never forget her she knew

10:54

everything she was like you know right encyclopedia and ruts she was like drill instru like Jesus so she knew everything

11:01

and I'm working up there I'm a kid I'm working with these ladies I'm like Jesus I'm like Mar thr my father's like we'll

11:07

send you down in the basement if you want to learn this business I learn from the bottom up and essentially you know

11:13

my father's words were right cuz when I had my own place those words were always in my head

11:19

I had to know how to do them you know right so I've done it all here from washing the dish the bus and tables to

11:24

bartending to making the relish to chili I do it all yeah and you know our

11:29

fathers wanted us to go to school get an education instead out of the business my father always said to me go to school get an education wear a shirt and tie

11:37

have your holidays off your weekends off we did that yeah we went to college we got out de Brees lifeboard is back here

11:44

somehow somewhere we we're back yeah my father passed away my brother took over my father share so we all came back into

11:51

it right essentially and and that's what that's how we're still here yeah yeah exactly you know I'm I I don't you know

11:59

I love it if I didn't love it I wouldn't be here sure yeah at least this shirt has a collar it's close

12:05

enough sometimes I say oh I should you know whatever it is what it is yeah

12:10

that's also interesting too because like you talk about the you know the the process and and like kind of the experience of the the speed and like all

12:17

that kind of stuff and like you do see the same folks in here whether they're part of the family or whether they're not but I think that that's obviously

12:24

like a testament to how the businesses run because if you were if everyone was a you know

12:29

when I tell people that first start here like if they happen to be working on a counter I says don't take it personally when a customer walks in

12:36

and walks right I bu it they're always going to go to somebody that they're familiar with totally you know it's nothing against you yeah I mean I look

12:43

out the side door and I know certain customers I'm more their St before they even hit the door you know what I mean

12:50

I'm here 20 years primarily on the counter and I've been doing it a long time so I know a lot of the customers I

12:57

know what they order you know but it's it's it's a you're familiar with each other you know what I mean and it's a

13:03

comfort thing yeah it's aun yeah they're comfortable with me you know we know each other you know blah I don't know

13:08

everybody's name of course but you know that's the guy two hot dogs in a right so if somebody we don't see somebody for

13:15

a long time my sister whoever will be like my sister be like oh I haven't seen SE and so I'm like well what do they

13:20

order you know they got get two hot dogs and on ring in a birch I'm like and then

13:25

and then it oh yeah okay I haven't seen him either you know whatever so we don't know everybody's names they might know

13:32

our names especially now with the social media they say you know your name this and that but I always say they're like

13:38

oh you must know my father I'm like show me a picture I'm sure I know him yeah what was his order if they show me a

13:43

picture I'm sure you know I know them yeah of course the male Performing Art Center is

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14:01

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14:08

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co.com and so let's let's talk about the we'll talk about the hot dogss real fast um they're called Rippers and if someone

15:03

doesn't know why they're called rippers why are they called rippers it's called a ripper cuz it's a deep fried hot dog

15:09

it's natural casing they're fried they're it so the term Ripper is

15:15

associated to the hot dog yeah so people come in here I want one hot dog I want one Ripper so you I'm like a ripper is a

15:21

hot dog instead of a hot dog here we say Ripper right I don't want you to say Ripper you don't have to say that you I

15:27

don't ask anybody you know a lot of times SE stuff on TV or whatever of course and they try to order it like

15:32

that and I well it says home of the Ripper then you got to like yeah so you know I try to explain to them that it's

15:38

just it's a de fried hot dog so the only difference is how it's cooked from lightly cooked to the extreme yeah which

15:44

would call it Creator Creator I didn't even know Creator I know Weller so it's well Ripper essentially they're all

15:52

rippers yeah right right even the lightest one is going to rip slightly but just like the average right you know

15:57

uh so the the the stream would be a Creator tell if you have a cremator you could just hold up for

16:05

it it's a Creator petrified I hit the counter once anybody wors that and I

16:11

don't know why anybody has ever seen us on any kind of program cremated it's Petr life there's no meat substance left

16:17

to that and everybody always orders this like like I'm like people do order that oh yeah really remember one person hat

16:23

somebody loves that's true yeah yeah you can't yck can't yuck someone's yum as they say I I have customers that I know

16:30

sure they always get it I don't question it of course when somebody comes here for the first time I'm like it's the extreme version some reason they still

16:37

want to try it I'm yeah you know it's not a true interpretation of what the hot bug is of course it's the extreme

16:43

I'm like you don't go jump over the bridge in the first try right jump off the side I don't know why everyone

16:48

whatever program we're on and I try not to say the term cremated cuz I know it's going to stick in their mind but

16:54

essentially we have to we have to say that because people get it right you know that's at the end of the day every

17:00

hot dog is going to be sold of course from the worst to the to the you know

17:06

yeah like when somebody comes here for the first time I tell them don't get hung up on this I want a well I want a

17:12

cream I'm going to give you what you're going to enjoy right I'm going to give you what I like yeah and then you can make some tweaks correct I'm going to

17:18

give you one that's cooked a little bit more one that's cooked a little bit less and you you can decide what you like

17:24

better right you know and I think that's that's also interesting too because it's like I I because this place is such an

17:29

institution you do have a lot of people that have been coming here for forever you also have a lot of people that find

17:36

this on whether it's through this or whether it's through whatever 100% and they're like o I got to go try that you

17:41

know like when we announc rut Hut for jerseyfest you know we're bringing basically rut out to Jersey City like

17:47

everyone was like Jesus this is so cool I don't have to drive out to Clifton to do this and I wanted to do this forever

17:53

but I think like being able to kind of walk someone through that and be like hey well you know that's why you know uh

17:59

whatever's on the counter it's it's it's knowledge yeah and it's not knowledge that you're going to pick up you know

18:05

day right we've been doing this since we're kids you know I'll be 55 years old yeah I've been doing it solidly for

18:12

almost the past 20 years yeah and before that you know I was a kid here but you know and I tell people when they you

18:19

know if we get new ruses young girls that come to work I says just listen to the customer the majority of them that

18:26

come here know exactly what they want just just pay attention they know the

18:31

system they know what they're ordering yeah you know and if you have a question ask somebody here that has you know find

18:37

somebody you know otherwise it's you know the customer base here knows yeah kind of like dictate almost you know

18:44

what what happens but um and they're uh thumans hot

18:49

dogs yeah which is which is cool because that's also a jersey company you know um

18:55

has it always been the case since all family took over yes you know pretty

19:01

cool I think the original they probably had a different company that probably went out yeah and yeah know yeah that's

19:09

cool and then and then the other thing with the hot dogs that also is part of the the fame of it homemade relish is

19:16

the homemade relish that's the gold and obviously you can't you know divulge but

19:21

what makes it what makes it better than any other relish people I've had before well most

19:28

conditional relish is a dill relish pickle relish yeah I has no pickle in it so when somebody says oh I don't like pickles I'm like there's no pickles in

19:35

this yeah and I've heard it called so many different things I came in today

19:40

he's like let me get a quart of that cornrow I'm like what corn I there's no corn in there but

19:47

I says if you find corn in there you let me know maybe it was like you know fishing a little bit a lot of people call it that yeah and then they call it

19:54

uh uh baby I've had people call it baby I've had people call it uh I

20:00

can't even think right now everyone's got their own name for this you know right you know whatever and essentially

20:07

it's like what their fathers told them it was of course so the guys that say baby their fathers called the baby

20:12

so now they're calling the baby yeah oh my god um and then let's

20:18

talk about like the rest of the menu too because I think that that's like a big

20:24

piece of it because like when I come through I'm just getting hot dogs really so that's what I tell most people people

20:30

that are coming here for the first time are obviously comeing to have a rib sure but we have a full menu so we have

20:36

people that come here every day every day customers we're not coming here for rippers every day yeah we have anything

20:41

from Rose duck to steak to fried chicken seafood uh you

20:46

know we have a we have a full menu what do I'm part of oh breakfast that's cool

20:51

we'll talk about that in a second on the stuff that people like outside of the you know the DI hard stuff like what's

20:58

what's your favorite thing on the menu that's not a hot dog uh I like to slic steak okay open

21:06

steak Yeah that's excellent I mean I love it you honest it's good but

21:13

you know we have something for everybody right it's not you know like so people call like oh say the hot B beef I'm like

21:19

it's a mix of beef and Fork says we know we have chicken we have seafood we have everything you know it's not just you

21:26

know those are the people that think it's just a hot dog spot right yeah I think to like when people walk in here

21:31

and they look at this you know this is a new menu here this digital menu is new right for years we had to push you know

21:37

like the little Pepsi one over there y so now you know even the every the people have been coming for years they're like like what the hell is this

21:44

rast duck yeah I'm like host Duck's been on I got a menu from 1951 on the wall there it's on the I mean there was if

21:51

you see the menu you be like what oysters and fried this and all sorts of stuff I mean you name it yeah

21:59

it's it's not it's not a new item on the you know right it's just a little brighter now right Rose duck and it's

22:05

you know couple months back they did a big thing on nj.com uh you know the only the locals know what to order and you

22:11

know the first thing they popped up was a rose dub from R Hut yeah I'm like oh my God I I was wondering why I'm like

22:17

everyone's coming here ordering this stop stop stop but you know a few years earlier action brono was in here and

22:24

right that was going to say you know he was eating and when we still had the old menu there he's like yeah they have to eat hot dogs and sure so much stuff I

22:31

mean crazy he looks he goes you got Rose du I want the rose du yeah and the way

22:37

he said it I said to my assistant I says that's going to be on the show just the cuz it came out of nowhere yeah and he

22:43

was floored by the road stock man and I knew when that air people would come in and order exactly what he ordered 100%

22:50

two cheese was dipped cup of chili and then oh can we get ear St yeah I was like it's from the show yeah so it was

22:58

cool that is cool and it just you know I think stuff like that is people would equate you know hot dog spot they're

23:05

just blown away that you have real stuck and I tell people it's excellent man you can't I mean it's phenomenal right I yet

23:12

to meet a customer that said it's s yeah it's on my list of things to try just

23:17

haven't tried a lot to try of course so we you know I I always call this hidden gems of

23:23

the establishment of course you know like the homemade R pudding homemade bread pudding you know we were just on

23:28

Fox news or whatever and they were talking about the homemade rice pudding I can't keep up with the rice pudding

23:35

I'm making rice pudding I feel like every day now yeah it's like yeah it's interesting too because like you know

23:41

like obviously we're doing this but we were talking off mic before about like a lot of the stuff that you guys have been doing recently you know whether it's new

23:49

shows or or different things um you know going to Jersey Fest like doing podcast doing like I saw the north Jersey eats

23:56

uh photo shoot you know the one day listen there's like so many things going on I've done so many I've done every

24:01

form media you can do here through the years yeah you know that you know I'm

24:07

not it's it's okay I I don't have an issue with it it's second nature to me

24:12

you know people like oh you should be a Salesman not a Salesman man the product is that good itself of itself yeah you

24:17

believe in and I believe in it I believe in it 200% right so when somebody says to me oh can I get a chocolate pudding I

24:24

tell him does it say homemade on that I don't make the chocolate pudding but I make the homemade rice pudding and I make the bread pudding yeah when you see

24:31

homemade you want to go with that we make the rice pudding we make the bread pudding we make the T salad we make the COO make the relish you make the chili

24:37

you make everything the soups are homemade here nothing out of a can here it's old school we slice our own meat

24:45

for the roast beef we grind our own meat for the chili it's it's not nothing i'

24:50

ever can yeah you know yeah I worked in a franchise where you know you grab a bag and the soup was in the bag and you

24:56

put it in in the hot instructions on it yeah do not you just put it in the hot water and when it Heats you open it up

25:01

and you put it you don't do that anymore yeah it's all made in house yeah and that's you know there's not too many

25:07

places that do that anymore right and I think that's a testament to The Establishment oh for sure yeah you could

25:13

if you I'm sure you could if you said oh we could just do that but I don't think we would ever do that

25:18

because I'll custom a bases they know and I think that's also interesting accustom to that of course like as

25:25

you're you know starting to kind of like as the business continues do you have almost like there's really like we

25:32

talked about before I mean almost 100 Years of kind of doing the same not the same thing but just kind of like the

25:38

same system following the same you know yeah the same procedure all that kind of stuffs essentially yeah and there ever

25:44

like moments where you and the family are saying to yourselves like oh maybe we should try something well to CH dog

25:51

so I was you know yeah I don't how much traditional this you know so you're anti- chili dog not that I'm anti- chili

25:57

dog but I'm I'm a traditional rart here is nor for you know the way we've been

26:03

doing it so I always took pride when somebody like I want all the way though we're do all the way but I don't know what all the way is yeah you know if you

26:09

like a cup of chili you got to get a cup on the side but my cousin George was like we have to have a chili ho we have

26:16

and you know essentially I said okay right we'll try it yeah Super Bowl well

26:22

I not I know the customer base wants it sure but I'm a traditional no I get it you know I still have customers now

26:28

today yeah what you make chili do now come on for all these years I always got a cup I say yeah I got out voided

26:36

essentially yeah you got to adapt slowly wore it down yeah cuz I always felt like

26:42

our Chili's the real all deal with chili out a sauce right you want to enjoy it it's a real you put it on a h you do it

26:48

however as a as a bowl or a cup whatever you want and you know I always I take great part of that I make this stuff so

26:55

I know it's like but it's good on the globe that's that's the way I like to eat it yeah I like the pili relish on

27:00

the dog that's the way I like to eat the hot dog if I'm eating the hot dog that's the way I'm eat it sure I do I'm a

27:06

mustard relish guy here did you try the chili and relish we just did I one and I

27:11

did uh CH chili relish mustard okay all the way I don't know what all the way is

27:18

so for years all this anytime they did a any kind of print media they would write uh make sure you get the hot dog I'm

27:25

like you freaking do all the way you know it's like amazing like these these news outlets they just take whatever was

27:31

printed and they and just keep running it change it a little it's like a telephone game it's like it makes me

27:37

crazy I'm like like I don't know what all the way is right even now like today I want to hop what would you like onor

27:42

at home you have home relish what have been ketchup if you like chili give me chili on it you know I don't know what

27:48

all the way is yeah I know what it is but I don't not here we don't use that L know sure you know totally let's talk

27:55

about uh the dining room too because I think like when you talk about the Action Bronson episode and like other things that kind of come through

28:01

obviously we're doing it in here um I feel like a lot of stuff is shot on this side correct and like the bar side to me

28:08

is almost kind of like like a hidden absolutely Dive Bar dining room gem

28:14

thing you know like a high life a cold High Life on draft and two dogs is I mean that' be like my final meal you

28:21

know got H um let's talk about like has that always like this setup dining room

28:27

this has always been like that yep yeah so you've been upstairs we say upstairs

28:32

she been upstairs before take physical step upstairs from the lower level to the top of level yeah so you know when

28:39

our fathers took over that dining room where the spindles are right that was all covered okay so a lot of people that

28:45

know you know think about it the 20s this was probably a Speak Easy I would say in time yeah I've been up in the

28:52

attic here and there's pipes going up and down I don't know where the hell is I don't know what you know yeah the flap

28:58

come down on the bar you know it was closed off you know whatever so it was probably a speak easiness you know

29:05

officially established in 28 but I'm sure it was around before yeah doing something before that right you know and

29:11

that's fine yeah you know we have people that come here like I says on a daily

29:16

basis you know they're coming for a meal you know whatever the special may be or they're having what roast beef whatever

29:22

they're eating yeah you the Dy is a big part of the establishment for sure yeah

29:28

um and during Co it was kind of suck because nobody was allowed to be in the dining room yeah took that piece away

29:34

from it right yeah so there's two factions that come to this place people that only went on that side and people

29:40

that only come on this side yeah I mean I've met so many customers through the years that like I've never even been on

29:46

that I'm like what yeah and vice versa but during Co they had no CL they had to

29:51

come of course which you know and that was another issue with the co you know

29:57

like people you know was difficult to get work help or you know and still we still trying to get past the you know we

30:03

used to be open till 11:00 right now we're open to eight can't find people to work it's like coob screwed up a lot of

30:10

business yeah right and and I think it's important you know like we do these

30:15

types of things because like and we've had instances where you know like businesses that have been around for 50

30:21

years it's like making sure that people like know about them you know and like they you're Braden people Horizons you

30:27

know EX like so anytime we be something and we're on something or whatever it is

30:33

I always say that it's a reminder to the people that have been here to come back Y and it's an introduction to people that have never been here right to come

30:39

try it out yeah or people that have been like meaning to come here right like oh yeah we should go you know it's been on the list I've been here long enough and

30:47

in the food business you know people PID lots of money to get people to walk through the door for the first time yeah I've never not been here and not had at

30:55

least 20 people walk through the door on any given day yeah for the first time yeah which is a testament to The

31:02

Establishment for sure it's you know if you look at it McDonald's it's not an a

31:07

location right it's a d location it's Weir getting here you know like coming

31:13

off on the River Road over here destination location you come here because it's rzut and rzut only yeah and

31:20

I again it's a testament to the you know it's it's and it's it's not just to get

31:26

S it's a test to Integrity of the product because it could be the name RS

31:31

up but if if you come here for the first time and it's not what you thought it was right you be like Play suck yeah

31:37

yeah you'll get that you're going to get some that's never going to be happy yeah they're a whatever dog there's always

31:43

you know everybody's wonderful where they come from and they appreciate that so you know when when they these Awards come out they number one this yeah no

31:49

one's ever going to be happy with those just to be you know associated with at the top in the country is sure is is

31:56

more than it's gravy for me get number one that's icing on the cake yeah but I

32:01

take all that with a gra the salt you know what I mean there's always going to be somebody that's going to you know hate the place and somebody that's going

32:06

to love the place and that's just the way it is you got to accept that and understand that you can't get hung up on

32:12

it social media people could destroy you yeah I try not to read any of that right you know I know what we stand for of of

32:19

course and I think also too like when we're talking we going back almost how you doing how you doing uh also talking

32:26

about like the community aspect of it which is that's like a great kind of segue part of that um is almost like we

32:34

go to ghost talk all the time you know like places around like Silk City or wherever else and I think like that's like a really interesting part of it too

32:40

because it's like other businesses that all kind of like feed off each other too you know it's like we piggyback play

32:47

piggy back I to say you know we're all in the same era General they're all Clif guys we CLI in guys yeah uh my brother

32:54

went to school with those guys but yeah it's it's Unique yeah like you know you

33:00

said Clifton's got a lot man Clifton's also huge like surprisingly really where

33:06

town are you from so I grew up in Morris County and Sussex County uh and we just recently moved to blomfield oh are here

33:13

yeah so now we're now it's great I was in Morristown for a while so every time visiting my girlfriend who lived in Monclair at the time you know we'd be

33:19

closer then so essentially looked at his Bard by the sake Patterson Nutley

33:27

infield y West Patterson yeah I mean Rutherford's across the way yeah and here you know

33:33

people like oh what town is this like it's cliffed on swifted not nutly cuz Nutley is two seconds that way but's two

33:39

seconds that way right yeah um so before we kind of get

33:45

close to the end because we've already been going for 30 minutes which is this is perfect

33:50

um where like we talked a little bit about kind of like the business being the way that it has been for the last 9

33:58

4 96 years um do you guys see kind of like is there

34:04

like a anything else on the horizon are you going to like keep chugging along like things may there's always something

34:10

on the horizon yeah it's just not sure what it is we get there yeah right yeah

34:16

absolutely there something on the horizon for sure we would love to you know take a Next Step you know be able

34:23

to ship out product you know people call all the time oh you guys ship the relish to California or you ship you know yeah

34:31

you know that's I think at some point in time that that that would be like a big

34:36

thing here it's like CU people you know they see these shows and they're like oh they ship the dogs you know like catell

34:44

shipped all over the country sure you know we we're not set up for that just yet yeah at some point in time be hard I

34:50

feel like it would be hard to ship a deep fried AOG yeah but I guess maybe the relish to Chile the relish Chile of

34:55

course so you know I have people every day it calls up yeah you guys ship

35:00

the relish like and if somebody's coming through they could pick it up for you be more than happy to send it yeah you know

35:07

for me to go physically send it you know we're not set up for that totally it's got to be it's got to be done the right

35:13

way we can't do it half yeah no 100% I think it goes back to like what we were talking about before is like you know

35:18

what you stand for you know what the product is you believe in it and you don't want you know someone lives in California that used to come here all

35:25

the time and they like want that see in the supermarket I can that's that'd be

35:30

cool I think that's going to happen at some point down the road you know we've we've always talked about it sure it's

35:35

just a matter of you know putting into motion yeah everything's got to be in proper play there and you know at some

35:41

point you know I think that we'll do it yeah yeah awesome uh so people listen to this episode if they're ruts die hards I

35:48

think they enjoyed it and they should come back for another one uh if they've never been here uh someone that's coming

35:54

in for the first time what would be your advice to them have a hot dog have a hot

36:01

dog deep fried Ripper yeah we got the homeade relish and listed there try some chili on it homemade onion rings y Raj

36:09

bir bear good to go top it off with some homemade rice pudding and you be

36:14

satisfied roll you right out of here that's it and cash only cash only right yeah that's also since 1928 love it ATM

36:21

on the premis if they need yep perfect that's a modern invention here as well I have used the ATM here quite a bit for

36:28

sure um okay we're going to make sure we put all the links and everything like that in the show notes people can go

36:33

click uh like I know Instagram really pushing the Social Media stuff now uh that's at the rutz hut I know that the r

36:39

Hut um and uh that's another story in itself oh yeah the ruts Hut because my cousin John who father was one of the

36:47

owners here yeah he was very ahead of his time with his social media sure so he established rut that you know on

36:55

Facebook and rut on Instagram he passed away we don't have nobody knows to how to get

37:01

in there right feel like there's got to be like some sort of not man George works for police the whole nine yards

37:07

and tried everything yeah I I've tried to call Facebook you know what it's like you got a better chance to talk up to

37:12

the president exactly nobody it's like yeah any yeah run around I would have

37:18

loved to have it as you know what's as it was but sure but the rat right you

37:23

know not just the rat the r the r like the Ohio

37:28

exactly yeah uh well Billy I appreciate you joining us on the show um we'll make

37:35

sure again like I said we'll put all the links in the show notes people can go check it out come down have a hot dog uh

37:40

this has been the green with the gar say podcast powered by the New Jersey Lottery on my cam he was Billy

37:46

chopina chopus damn it my bad uh it's those those Greek glass Nam like they so

37:52

many you know it's just thing it's like just keeps going so many people pouring asked me for my name I'm like like well

38:01

my real name isos but like SP your lesson I'm like c a f i n i s and I just

38:08

keep adding something then I'm like I'm just joking awesome uh so Mike ham Billy

38:14

chrisop thank you for watching and we'll catch you next time come down for some rippers absolutely all right thanks Billy appreciate it do you want to

38:24

R you my mind baby do you are

38:30

right oh tell me before you go long way

38:36

do you want right

38:57

he