Fred's wood-grilled dogs are frankly a local favorite
WAKEFIELD -- The morning's desolate parking lot and ominous clouds around Lake Quannapowitt don't seem to perturb Fred Rex. "You have to be part weatherman to do this job," he says, tucking a hot dog into the sole customer's waiting bun. The man scurries away, using one hand to shield his lunch from spitting raindrops. He dines in a parked car with the wipers going.
When Rex, who owns
On a nice day, spotting Rex on the lake is an annual rite of spring. Walkers, runners, stroller-pushers, and other fresh-air junkies might be circling Quannapowitt year round. But when Rex and his tow-along Big Green Egg grill reappear, locals from Wakefield and the surrounding towns come out in droves.
From the back of a homemade red wooden trailer, Rex grills hot dogs, kielbasa, chorizo, and linguiça to order over hardwood lump charcoal with a touch of apple wood. He has been working this spot near the Route 128 rotary five days a week -- spring through fall -- ever since he was laid off from his job four years ago. He had been at the electronics company Trilogic Systems for 17 years until
For his new venture, Rex decided to grill franks over wood because "there was no place around here to get a great dog." Over the years, the lakeside operation has undergone several iterations. Rex started by cooking on a Weber Smokey Joe but it was inefficient, fuel-wise, "keeping a fire going seven or eight hours a day." The Big Green Egg (see related story below) maintains a high temperature consistently and holds moisture.
The entrepreneur also used to lug everything to his site in a wooden boat he had made, then put out tables and chairs -- these, of course, had to be taken down and set up daily -- but that managed to both annoy a local official and physically wear Rex out. The efficient design of his current operation owes much to lessons learned "through trial by fire," he says.
Places to sit are now limited to the public benches facing the lake. Customers step up to the trailer to place orders with Rex's helper (today it's Hannah Gregorio), who grabs buns from the built-in trunk and snatches chips from clips on the underside of the cedar-shingled roof. At the other end of the trailer, Fred grills under the shelter of the roof. The Big Green Egg is housed in a cart with an easy-to-clean stainless steel top.
If you examine the trailer's counters closely, you'll spy a crown branded into the pine. This is Rex's own "maker mark," the crown a nod to his last name, which means king in Latin.
While awaiting their orders, customers fill fresh buns and bulkie rolls with chopped onion, sauerkraut, hot cherry peppers, and other toppings from built-in condiment holders. If a customer is willing, Rex will fill the bun with his own special "yin-yang" mixture: a combination of mayonnaise, Rosoff sweet sauerkraut, and Cholula hot sauce, topped with chopped sweet onion.
The sun is now blazing so Rex sheds his colorful knit cap and dons sunglasses. Using a bungee-cord pulley, he raises the porcelain cooker's ponderous lid to retrieve some meat. A gust of wind snatches a puff of smoke and perfumes the group of waiting lunchers. Natural-casing all-beef franks are nicely crisp and snap when bitten. "The standard dog at Fred's is crispy," he says. "So if you don't want it crispy, just tell me. I want it the way you want it."
"Done just right," announces Somerville resident Ron Boudreau about his deeply browned dog with crosshatch grill marks. "I haven't had a hot dog since he folded up the stand last year. And I cook a lot at home," he says. "Once, I picked up my wife, who works in Woburn, to take her to lunch here. She was expecting a steam cart with hot dogs. I told her, 'I wouldn't take you for just any hot dog.' "
Rex, 51, stocks only locally made Pearl brand hot dogs, which he's been eating since he was 14. To outfit his trailer, he has a system down pat. The night before, he slits all the dogs. Mornings at 5:30 a.m., he orders bread, which he picks up later at the Atlantic Food Mart en route from his Reading home. Icing the coolers, stocking the sodas, and loading the trailer begins at 7 a.m. In iffy weather, he decides if he should go to the lake, and posts a notice on his website by 9 a.m.
When he arrives lakeside at 10 a.m., he sees which direction the wind is blowing, because direct gusts make the grill burn hotter. Then he parks the trailer to block the wind and begins setting up. His customers, mostly men, with an equal balance of suits and work boots, often arrive before he's open.
Rex now takes winters off. "From the beginning, the plan was to work for six months a year," he says. He lives very simply, but enjoys a more fulfilling life, taking care of his 83-year-old mother and visiting a sister and her children in Colorado to cook, fly, and ski.
In Wakefield, customers who want to grab a bite at Fred's Franks need a bit of luck -- and some planning. Rex isn't there in inclement weather and will only grill dogs and sausages until he runs out. Also, he's open only for lunch. Though Fred's Franks has been a weekday business, this year Rex dropped Mondays and began setting up on Saturdays instead.
"I have a lot of customers who say they'd like to bring their wife, kids, or husband, but can't do that during the week," says Rex. And he doesn't seem to tire of doing the same packing and unpacking routine every day. "What can I say? I really still get a buzz out of putting a hot dog on a bun and watching someone's eyes light up when they take a bite."
Fred’s Franks, located on Lake Quannapowitt in Wakefield, is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For the exact location and weather-related closings go to fredsfranks.com.
