Best Windy City Hot Dogs in La Grange Park July 24 held its first hot dog eating contest.
Promoted as an appetizer to the village's first-ever Jazz & Blues Fest held that evening in Memorial Park, the contest drew a somewhat small but enthusiastic crowd who cheered on their favorite participants in three age divisions.
We captured the Elite Division showdown on video, provided below.
For those who don't have the stomach to watch, the winners were:
Elite Division - Age 18 & older
Lawrence Arroyo, of La Grange Park, ate 12 hot dogs in 12 minutes.
Big Dogs Division - Ages 13 through 17
David Suominen, of La Grange Park, ate 9 hot dogs in 10 minutes.
Little Dogs Division - Age 12 years & younger
Ivan Vanek, of La Grange Park, ate 7½ hot dogs in 6 minutes.
None of the winners above came close to challenging the world record of 66 hot dogs eaten in 12 minutes, set in 2007 by Joey Chestnut, then-23 years old, of San Jose, California.
Mario Cavaliere, general manager of Best Windy City Hot Dogs, said he and the restaurant's owner, his father, Rick, plan to make the local contest an annual event. With better promotion next time, they hope to attract some big-time players from the competitive-eating circuit, he said.
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