After 12 years, two carts and hundreds of thousands of hot dogs, campus “hot dog guy” Tim Nally is hanging up his apron.
Nally plans to move to Australia with his wife Maurene, a native of Australia, early next month to help provide better care for her 91-year-old mother. The two were married there in 1969 before coming to the United States, Nally said. He plans to work his last day at his “One Bad Dawg” hot dog stand at the corner of East 13th Avenue and Kincaid Street this Friday before leaving Eugene Dec. 15 to say goodbye to family and friends around Oregon.
Nally said he was happy to support his wife of 37 years and her family, but was also sad to leave a community in which he has become a fixture.
“It’s a hard thing to leave,” Nally said. “I’ve always really loved coming to work.”
In addition to his wife, Nally will also be with his son and oldest daughter in Australia and New Zealand. Both plan to move Down Under within the next year as well, he said. Nally said he would continue to work after leaving the country, but he doesn’t know what he will be doing yet.
“I might start another hot dog stand over there and introduce them to good hot dogs,” he said.
Several community members expressed displeasure over Nally’s departure. University senior Trisha Alexander, also an employee at the University Bookstore, said she had already learned of the possibility of Nally moving to Australia, but didn’t know if it was for sure.
“I was really kind of bummed,” she said. “It’s like losing a close friend because he’s been here for so long. I’m just so used to seeing him every day.”
Alexander said she visited Nally most often during the summer months while she stayed in Eugene to work. She said his friendliness and the fact that he paid attention to every customer he served made him successful.
University senior Erin Leer agreed, saying it likely won’t be the same without him.
“I feel like he’s kind of a part of campus,” Leer said.
Even after Nally leaves Eugene, One Bad Dawg will live on under the guidance of Shari Chrissis, a friend of Nally’s who filled-in for him in 2004 while he attended a wedding in Argentina. She will begin operating the stand on Jan. 8, the first day of winter term. Nally begins his final week under the umbrella today.
“The realization is really setting in,” he said. “This has been such an integral part of my life.”
Chrissis said she would do her best to operate the stand exactly as Nally has, emphasizing the community interaction more than simply selling hot dogs.
“Nothing is going to change,” she said. “He had a method that has worked very well, so I don’t want to mess with it.”
Chrissis added that she was still a little wary of stepping in for such a well-established member of the campus community.
“No one is ever going to replace Tim,” Chrissis said. “To think that is foolish.”
Nally said the most important thing he will take from his time in Eugene is the large amount of friends he has made while running his stand, something he has gained because of the approach he took to his business.
“I’ve just tried to make it a friendly experience,” he said. “I’ve always said that every hot dog comes with a conversation.”
He said he particularly enjoys interacting with University students, who are the group Nally said really drive his business each year.
“I just don’t think I’m 66 years old, and I don’t act like I’m 66 years old,” Nally said. “I can ask questions with the best of them.”
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