Hofmann, Heid’s start distribution, promotion partnership

SYRACUSE — Hot on the heels of the announcement of its new ownership, Hofmann Sausage Company revealed that it has once again started distributing its products directly to the well-known Heid’s of Liverpool hot-dog restaurant.

The deal also includes co-promotion of the Hofmann and Heid’s brands through website ads and links. The businesses provided no financial terms of the partnership.

New Hofmann Sausage Company CEO Frank Zaccanelli pushed for the distribution and co-promotion deal to smooth the rift created in 1993 when Heid’s dropped Hofmann products to market its own brand. Heid’s again started selling Hofmann hot dogs in 1997, but purchased the products through a third-party distributor.

“I think it’s very prudent to have these two iconic businesses doing business together,” Zaccanelli says. His goal as the new owner of Hofmann is to sell hot dogs, he says. “So, if we can sell more hot dogs working with a great restaurant, why wouldn’t we?”

Heid’s opened as a hot-dog stand in Liverpool in 1917 and grew to several outlets in the 1990s. John Park and his family bought the original Liverpool location in 1995, and it is now the only remaining Heid’s restaurant.

“The big fight between Hofmann and Heid’s was before my family owned the restaurant,” Parker said in a press release. “We brought back Hofmann, which has always been there for us. The two brands have a 90-plus-year history together and we hope to have another 90 years.”

Zaccanelli Food Group of Dallas, along with a group of investors, including Oneida Nation Enterprises, acquired Hofmann Sausage Company earlier this month in a multi-million-dollar deal. The investor group plans to transition Hofmann from a regional brand to a national and even international brand, starting with a  distribution deal at Albertson’s Grocery Stores in the Dallas area. Hofmann investor Phil Romano, who created Macaroni Grill and Fuddruckers, plans to open a national chain of Hofmann World’s Greatest Hot Dogs restaurants.

The deal with Heid’s won’t interfere with any restaurant plans, Zaccanelli says. His plan with Romano includes opening the first Hofmann restaurants in the Dallas area before moving on to other cities that are home to NFL franchises. There are no plans to open any Hofmann restaurants in Central New York, he says, because the area already has a great hot-dog restaurant in Heid’s.

Hofmann (www.hofmannsausage.com) is a meat manufacturer and distributor based in Syracuse that employs nearly 40 people and offers more than 80 products online and at a variety of retail locations.