By Lofton Wheeles
For the Opelika Observer
Franky June’s Weeny Wagon opened last month and is now serving the Opelika area. You can often find Franky June’s food truck at the Firing Pin, Bubba’s Medicine Shop and Southern Union State Community College.
Karen Lanier opened the food truck after being inspired by her northeastern upbringing and the food she remembered from her youth.
“I’m from New Jersey up in the Northeast and our hot dogs there are a lot different than what they are anywhere else,” she said. “I was also in the Navy for 20 years and I’ve had different kinds of hot dogs all around. So, we wanted to come up with all different kinds of hot dogs because you can put anything on a hot dog and we did some research, put together a menu and that was that.
“We also wanted a good hot dog that we couldn’t find [in the area].”
Lanier had a business prior to opening Franky June’s and wanted to start a new venture after missing a significant part about running a business.
“We had a business before and the one thing we missed about it was meeting people,” she said. “So, we were like ‘We don’t want to open up a storefront, so let’s try a food truck.’ That way we can work around [the Opelika area] and take it to all different events and all different locations so we can meet all different kinds of people.”
Franky June’s also can boast of an important detail regarding the quality of the food they create.
“We have hot dogs and tater tots and it’s fun because you can put anything on both,” Lanier said. “And most of everything we make is homemade so we can control [everything] a lot better. For example, we can control whether something has the right amount of salt or the right amount of sweetness, all those kinds of things.”
Lanier also hopes that people that have come to Opelika from many different places can have a little taste of their hometown when they come visit the food truck.
“We’re just happy about the different kinds of people that are continuing to come to Opelika from all around the country,” she said. “We’re hoping that with our hot dogs, [such as] our ‘Manhattans’ with the sauerkraut and the mustard, that the people from the Northeast can have a hot dog that they remember. And people from Chicago can enjoy a ‘Chicago dog’ or people from California can enjoy a hot dog with jalapenos and pico de gallo on it. So, we’re hoping that all the different kinds of hot dogs help people bring back their memories of their childhood and their life.”
To get updates for when the food truck will set up shop and on the business, please go to their Facebook page www.facebook.com/FrankyJunes.