Fans of Avila Beach’s famed food cart, California Hot Dogs, now have a place to get their frankfurter fix without having to step out of their vehicles.
During the spring of 2024, owner Shawn Van Pelt celebrated the grand opening of California Hot Dogs’ first brick-and-mortar restaurant: a drive-through on Nicholson Avenue in Santa Maria, neighboring Cool Hand Luke’s, also owned by Van Pelt.
“We’ve had this unit right here next to Cool Hand Luke’s for the last 15, or 10 years. … I’ve been using it as storage,” said the local restaurateur, who had a kitchen built in the unit, now a bustling drive-through with space for customers to eat inside too.
He compared the venue’s counter seating to the kind you find inside Splash Cafe in Pismo Beach. During the summer, Van Pelt’s California Hot Dogs cart operates six days a week in Avila. The cart originated with former owner Bobby Duran in the late 1980s, said Van Pelt, who bought the business in 2022.
Visitors at the brand’s new Santa Maria brick-and-mortar can catch the cart’s signature hot dogs and shave ice on the drive-through’s menu, along with new additions and upgrades on some staples.
“What I do in-house here, different than the cart, is … the snow cap,” Van Pelt said about patrons’ option to add some sweet cream on top of their shave ice. “It’s just an extra kick. It’s true Hawaiian shave ice.”
There are more than a dozen flavors to choose from when it comes to California Hot Dogs’ shave ice, and a handful of pre-set recipes, such as Hang Ten (with orange and vanilla) and Tropical Paradise (with piña colada and pineapple).
Van Pelt, whose go-to flavors are strawberry and banana, said the most popular shave ice on the menu is The Wave (with blue raspberry and cherry jubilee).
When it comes to the business’s namesake, California Hot Dogs offers an assortment of hot dog options, including the Cajun hot link—Van Pelt’s personal favorite.
“It’s a quarter pound dog, nice and spicy with lots of flavor,” Van Pelt said of the Silva brand sausage, served on a white bun with tons of condiments to choose from.
One of the eatery’s most popular dogs is the LA Street Dog, a bacon-wrapped beef frank with grilled onions and peppers. Other beef bestsellers on the menu include the restaurant’s smash burgers.
With inspiration from In-N-Out’s minimalistic approach, Van Pelt said he decided to keep the smash burger menu “short and sweet,” with two burgers to choose from: the Classic and the Baja Burger.
While Van Pelt owns California Hot Dogs and Santa Maria’s Cool Hand Luke’s, both are within walking distance of a tasting room in the same plaza he doesn’t own but has an ongoing collaboration with. Guests of Costa de Oro Winery can order straight from both eateries to pair with their wine tastings.
“I have both my menus over there,” Van Pelt said. “They order from either Luke’s or the drive-through, and we just run it over to them.”
The synergy between the three spots can turn a quick lunch into a multi-tiered experience. Aside from the wine nearby, there’s also Cool Hand Luke’s rotating cocktail menu to take advantage of.
Rebecca Cisneros, general manager and events coordinator at Cool Hand Luke’s in Santa Maria, said that Van Pelt’s restaurant “will often do specials and have menu items that the other locations won’t have,” including its rotating drinks selection.
“We usually run our specials seasonally, so they change every few months,” Cisneros said in an email interview, “and we try to keep them themed with the season.
“Spring and summer usually focus on fresh fruits and vibrant colors,” Cisneros explained. “During fall we’ll do pumpkin- or apple-spiced theme drinks. … In winter, we do drinks for cold weather and Christmas/holiday-themed.”
Regardless of what time of year it is, Van Pelt recommends pairing Cool Hand Luke’s prime rib dip sandwich with a spiked strawberry lemonade.
Both Cool Hand Luke’s and California Hot Dogs have family appeal as well, with kids menus and fun side dishes, such as Napoleon’s Tots—tater tots with the option to get loaded up with chili and cheese on top—at the latter of the two.
“Some people get the reference, some don’t,” Van Pelt said of the movie nod with a laugh. m
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood rewatches Napoleon Dynamite all the time. Throw a steak at him, or send tots to [email protected].
