LeDog

After 35 years, the owner of Le Dog restaurant decided to close the location on East Liberty Street to consolidate with the Main Street location.

(Photo Illustration | The Ann Arbor News )

After 35 years, Le Dog owner Jules Van Dyck-Dobos has decided to close his popular soup and hot dog stand on East Liberty Street.

The bright red stand at 410 E. Liberty St. is now closed, and Van Dyck-Dobos is directing customers to the Le Dog location three blocks west at 306 S. Main St., which his wife has operated since 1996.

“We are expanding our kitchen on Main Street. I need a bigger kitchen and I couldn’t expand on East Liberty Street. We decided to concentrate all on Main Street,” Van Dyck-Dobos said.

Van Dyck-Dobos opened Le Dog on East Liberty Street in 1979, leasing the 200-square-foot stand. The original location served customers for lunch on weekdays, with handmade signs announcing the day’s offerings.

Le Dog's menu focuses on rotating homemade soups prepared with fresh ingredients, along with hot dogs and fresh lemonade.



Van Dyck-Dobos said Le Dog serves more than 428 different soups every year — making it nearly impossible to choose his own favorites.

“Say you had five (children), would you be able to say your favorite?” Van Dyck-Dobos joked.

Van Dyck-Dobos said Le Dog customers have two favorite soups: lobster bisque and chicken tortilla.

Chicken white chili, beef chili and pozole follow close behind, he said.

Although Van Dyck-Dobos said the decision to close the stand on East Liberty Street is heartbreaking, he said it was the best move for the business.

Le Dog's lobster bisque is a popular draw for many of its customers.

His wife, Ika, and son, Miki, work at the restaurant and will run the Main Street location, which will allow Van Dyck-Dobos to take a step back from day-to-day operations.

“I’m turning 66 years old in a couple weeks and it’s time for me to step back a little bit,” Van Dyck-Dobos said. “I don’t want to work six days a week; three days a week is fine until I reach 70 years old.”

He added: “It’s time to pass the torch.”

Van Dyck-Dobos said he hopes customers who are used to visiting Le Dog on East Liberty Street will walk three extra bocks to dine at the Main Street location.

He said the Main Street location is a “totally different experience” than Liberty Street.

“We are inside (on Main Street),” he said. “You don’t have to get wet, you don’t have to get cold and you don’t have to get windblown. …It’s much better than it was on Liberty.”

Le Dog on Main Street is one of several tenants inside the building at 306 S. Main St. Van Dyck-Dobos said there is a small seating area downstairs where Le Dog customers can eat their lunch.

The closure of the stand on East Liberty Street means food preparation is relocating to Main Street. Van Dyck-Dobos took over a 370-square-foot space in the building for a kitchen expansion.

“We are so busy. We were working elbow-to-elbow. It’s four people and the space is just too small,” he said.

Van Dyck-Dobos said the Le Dog menu will stay the same at the Main Street location, but they are considering expanding menu options in the future.

Le Dog on Main Street is open from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“That is with an asterisk: Vacations as needed,” Van Dyck-Dobos joked.

Lizzy Alfs is a business reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Reach her at 734-623-2584, email her lizzyalfs@mlive.com or follow her on Twitter.