O’Betty’s Red Hot, a popular hot dog restaurant located at 15 W. State St., has recently undergone multiple interior remodeling projects to prepare for when it can welcome customers back for dine-in seating.
The small building that houses O’Betty’s was built in an alley in the 1970s, but didn’t become home to the restaurant until 2003. Despite its size, Bob Satmary, the owner of O’Betty’s, has found numerous projects to complete while the world is at a relative standstill due to COVID-19.
Of course, renovating during a global pandemic wasn’t what Satmary had imagined, but the improvements initially started out of necessity and then continued as more problems emerged.
“(The roof) was ancient and falling in, and so when it rained…we had pockets everywhere where it would just literally drain into the building,” Satmary said. “(The restaurant) was all virtually gutted; it was just brick walls, everything was just literally brick walls.”
Satmary said that the roof remodeling project was slated to take about six weeks, but ended up taking about seven months. During that time, he began to work on the place himself, building shelves for a miniature “hotdog museum” and a small stage in the back of the building for entertainment purposes. The space now resembles a whimsical circus attraction, complete with red and yellow compartments packed with countless hot dog paraphernalia.
Naturally, visitors will not be able to view this new and improved side of O’Betty’s until the pandemic is more managed, but Satmary is hopeful for when that day eventually comes.
“If everybody would just wear a mask and get the COVID over, we could open up inside,” Satmary said. “And that'll be awesome because it is closer to where I want it to be than it ever has been before.”
As it seems, fans of O’Betty’s are glad that they can still order food from the to-go window that has remained open throughout parts of the pandemic. Kellee Steffen, an Ohio University staff member, raved about her experiences there.
“Every time I've gone, it's been a wonderful experience,” Steffen said. “The staff has always been really nice and friendly and the food has always been so good. I've never had a bad thing there.”
Kennedy Dauphin, a junior studying journalism, expressed similar sentiments.
“I enjoy the price point of it, I think, especially as a college student. It's super nice to just have an inexpensive option for, like, late night food or…even just during the day…for a quick dinner,” Dauphin said. “I like the people that work there, they're all super nice and super friendly, and then obviously the food itself…I enjoy it quite a lot.”
Dauphin also mentioned the importance of supporting a small, local business like O’Betty’s during this time of widespread financial strain.
“I am in a sorority here…and we have been…trying to support local businesses as opposed to…chains just because we know how hard…they've been hit,” Dauphin said. “I think it's super important to support local Athens businesses because they're like the backbone of Athens and Ohio University.”
Satmary expressed gratitude toward the Athens and Ohio University communities in helping to keep O’Betty’s in business these past 17 years.
“I'm pretty sure that reason we're still here is because of the community,” Satmary said. “This pandemic would have killed us, I think, if I were anybody else or had I not been here, you know, as part of town forever.”
And despite the financial and psychological challenges that have come with running a restaurant for nearly two decades and performing an entire remodel at a time of such uncertainty, Satmary is proud of his time in Athens.
“I’m not rich, and I don’t think I’ll ever get rich,” Satmary said. “But I’m proud of it.”
