It’s the 1980s, and people are throwing their newspapers off the Fullerton platform, too tired to find a trash can. The ward superintendent, Peter Schivarelli, was in charge of several things, including city sanitation. Schivarelli, responding to a request from the CTA, decided to help clean up the litter. He suddenly had an idea.

“I was watching how many people were coming off,” Shivarelli said. “And I said, ‘Y’know, this is such a nice location.’”

He opened what would become the famous hot dog stand “Demon Dogs.” Most students today walk past the ghost of the stand, as it’s no longer in business or even standing. However, for many alumni, the stand was beloved.

 “You could try to skip it, but it would just draw you in,” said 1995 DePaul alum Pam Berg, who lived in Seton Hall and remembers nothing but good times at the stand. She recalled the cheap eats: “They had the best milkshakes, and on a bad day, it was always a guilty pleasure to go there,” Berg said.

For her, Demon Dogs was an easy place to meet up with people, whether it was before or after classes.

However, Demon Dogs closed after a two year legal battle because the Chicago Transit Authority wanted to expand the Brown Line. It was demolished in 2005.

Recently, a rumor about the shop reopening was spread as an April Fools’ joke. An Instagram post made by @chicago_history, posted on April 2, claimed they spoke with the owners and insinuated that there was a chance of it reopening. Schivarelli denies these claims.

In addition to being the manager of Demon Dogs, Schivarelli also managed the famous band Chicago; band memorabilia hung on the walls inside, and the shop’s slogan was the lyrics “a hard habit to break.”

It was just a strong institution that everyone knew about. It was almost like part of the campus, it was so well-known,” said Berg, who graduated from DePaul in 1995 with a political science and business degree and now lives in Wilmette, Illinois. The bright lights, late nights, friendly staff and the convenience of coming to or from the Fullerton stop drew people in.

 DePaul alum Larry Woznicki graduated shortly after the shop had initially opened. 

“In ‘83, there was a newness to it,” Woznicki said. “Newness becomes a routine.” 

 Woznicki, a Chicago native, recalled the “2-for-1” deal, with each hot dog selling for just 50 cents. However, he doesn’t mourn the place.

 “All good things come to an end,” Woznicki said. “It had a good run.”

Schivarelli said he was forced to close the shop. He leased the space for the stand from the CTA, which claimed he was not paying his utilities, such as the electric bill. He disagrees with this, as he says it was outlined in his lease.

According to the appellate court case, Schivarelli v. Chicago Transit Authority (2005), the CTA claims the utility agreement drawn in the lease between Schivarelli and Merritt Kotin, head of the CTA’s real estate department at the time, was not approved by them. They argued that the agreement wasn’t put in writing, and there was no evidence that they agreed to the utility dynamic.

 “It was the worst thing that ever happened to me,” Schivarelli said.

 Schivarelli said he had other good things going for him at the time: a job with the city and opportunities with the band. Yet he was very adamant that, if he had it his way, the shop would never have closed. 

“The one thing I didn’t want to do was give up Demon Dogs,” Schivarelli said.

Schivarelli, now 81, said was delighted to reminisce about the old stand, even though most current students have no idea what Demon Dogs was. In his view and that of many alumni, the stand remains one of the most iconic hot dog stands in Chicago history.

Woznicki said he would go back to visit if the shop had truly reopened, but he wouldn’t expect it to be the same.

“Everybody wants to go back to something that is part of their life, especially if it was a happy memory,” Woznicki said. 

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