Dad’s Dog House, a ramshackle Tastee-Freez-turned-hot-dog-shack on University Drive, was a Mesa institution for decades, regularly drawing crowds than lined up out the door for an inexpensive meal.

When the venerable eatery burned down in November 2001, and its often-irascible owner, Paul Legac, passed away the following April, a piece of East Valley dining history was lost.

Now, though, Dad’s fans can get their Chicago-style hot dog fix again: Legac’s widow, Julia (pictured on left), is opening Hawgs ‘N’ Dawgs Flamin’ Grill in Gold Canyon on Tuesday.

The restaurant takes over a 990-square-foot space once occupied by Zonas Grill in the Bashas’ shopping center just off U.S. 60 on Superstition Mountain Drive.

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