Hot dogs were in his DNA: Vienna Beef boss Eisenberg dies at 92
James Eisenberg was a champion of the Chicago hot dog.
As the head of Vienna Beef, he'd take his late wife Elin to eat at a nice restaurant downtown, but both always saved room for a post-dinner bite at a hot dog joint so he could make sure things were up to snuff.
"That was their dessert," said Jim Bodman, who for years served as co-chief executive officer of Vienna Beef with Mr. Eisenberg. "It was part of their DNA absolutely and totally."
"He liked his dog boiled in water with everything on it or 'walked through the garden,' as they say - but no ketchup," said Eisenberg's son Jamie Eisenberg, a former Vienna employee. "We had a sales guy who worked for us once, and he put ketchup on his hot dog. He would eat lunch early, and I'm not sure if that's so Dad wouldn't catch him or if he was just hungry early."
Eisenberg died April 7 at his home in Highland Park from heart issues and lung cancer. He was 92.