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The Wieners Circle delivers hot dogs, burgers to refugees after Gov. Abbot tweet

By FOX 32 News
Published  January 9, 2023 5:04pm CST
Chicago
FOX 32 Chicago

The Wieners Circle delivers hot dogs, burgers to refugees after Gov. Abbot tweet

When The Wiener Circle saw the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbot, touting how many migrants he's bused to sanctuary cities like Chicago, the restaurant decided to step up.

CHICAGO - A Chicago Hot Dog Stand famous for its rough treatment of customers shows a softer side.

When The Wieners Circle saw the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbot, touting how many migrants he's bused to sanctuary cities like Chicago, the restaurant decided to step up.

"Our country's built on immigration, and we have empathy for these people," said Owner Ari Levy.

On Dec. 27, Abbot tweeted that his administration has bused nearly 16,000 migrants to sanctuary cities, including Chicago. 

"Can anyone tell us where these poor migrants ended up in Chicago? We'd like to feed them," tweeted The Wieners Circle in reply.

Responses poured in, and via social media, restaurant management was able to connect with a group of 60 Venezuelan refugees, serving up a hot dinner at their shelter this past Tuesday.

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"They're not [regularly] getting hot meals," said Levy.  "It went a long way, just on one Tuesday night, just to get them hot dogs and burgers."

Since then, the famous hot dog stand has fielded dozens of calls from fans and customers wanting to help, so they set up a winter clothing drive.

"We started this drive," said GM Evelyn Morris.  "It was very small at first. We had one bag. Then all of the sudden I started getting calls."

"These are people that showed up with summer clothing and nothing, and you can imagine the needs people have," said Levy.

The restaurant delivered the refugees an SUV full of clothes this past Friday, and since then it's received triple that amount, ready to deliver.

"Everybody knows The Wieners Circle is for fun," said Morris in encouraging others to donate winter clothing.  "We're going to put a smile on your face along with that donation, and I'm sure we're going to put a smile on a lot of other people's faces with all of this, okay?"

With no real long-term plan in place for these refugees, Levy says the need to help them is dire.  If you are looking to help out, he encourages you to reach out via social media, where they can guide you to the right agency.