Tango Charlie Dogs Opens at Home Depot
Former electrician is now top dog at Home Depot concession stand.
Tango Charlie Dogs at Home Depot, 4155 N. Port Washington Rd. Photo submitted.
You might expect to find a former electrician working in the wiring department of The Home Depot. But running the in-store concession stand is what really lights up Anthony Cecola.
The retired tradesman recently took ownership of the hot dog stand at the home improvement retailer, fulfilling a childhood dream.
“I’m really excited,” Cecola said. “I’ve wanted to own a hot dog stand since I was a little kid.”
Cecola spent 35 years as an electrician at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, where he also made cameos as the voice behind the security announcements. “Moving walkway ending, please look down, that kind of stuff,” he demonstrated in his deep baritone.
After his retirement in 2020, Cecola worked an eclectic assortment of jobs including stints as a golf course ranger and a boat captain on Delavan Lake for bachelorette parties.
When the hot dog stand opportunity arose, Cecola jumped at the chance. But first, he wanted to familiarize himself with the ins and outs of the business, customer flow and product quality. “I worked there for about six months before I decided that I was ready to make the purchase,” he said.
The stand, located just inside Home Depot at 4155 N. Port Washington Rd., has been in business for more than 15 years, and remains the only one of its kind in Milwaukee County. Under Cecola, the stand will be called Tango Charlie Dogs, named for his radio call sign at O’Hare.
The new role is a natural fit for Cecola, who has a natural inclination for hospitality. “I’m a people person,” he said. “I love feeding people. Even when I’m at home — I live alone and I feed people every day — you know how that goes. People show up because they know someone wants to cook.”
At Tango Charlie, Cecola will be able to extend the same hospitality to a wider range of patrons, offering top-quality hot dogs at a reasonable price.
“Everything for me is about the quality of service and the quality of the actual product that we serve,” said Cecola, who makes a biweekly trip to Chicago to source speciality hot dogs and polish sausages from Makowski’s Real Sausage Company — the best, in his opinion.
“When they say it’s real beef, it’s real beef. And they’re not kidding,” he said.
Tango Charlie Dogs offers a variety of hot dogs including a classic Chicago-style dog and the best-selling Maxwell Street Polish, a beef and pork sausage topped with grilled onions, mustard and sport peppers.
“It’s a really beautiful sandwich, and everybody seems to enjoy it,” Cecola said. “Sometimes I have to make a trip (to Chicago) just to get more of those because we’re running low.”
The stand also offers a bratwurst, jumbo dogs, plain hot dogs, chili dogs, nachos, tamales and pizza. Cecola said he’s also considering adding Mexican corn.
Cecola said his trips to Chicago cut delivery costs, which allows him to maintain reasonable prices at the stand; customers can buy a hot dog, chips and soda for under $6.
Cecola said the stand attracts a fair amount of impulse buyers, especially parents with kids in tow. About 20% are regular, he estimated, and “the rest are contractors who send a guy to get nails and he comes back with 35 hot dogs,” Cecola said with a laugh. “We get that quite often.”
Cecola spends many a day working the stand, seeking connection with customers and looking for ways to improve. “I enjoy the smiling faces, everybody loves a hot dog.”
Current hours at the stand are 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday, but Cecola said he hopes to eventually extend those hours until 6 p.m. and open Sundays.
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