Pinkies Dog House opens for business near Binghamton

CHENANGO, N.Y. — Dan Napierala is getting back to his culinary roots with his latest restaurant venture Pinkies Dog House, which opened on Oct. 17 at 1237 Upper Front St. in the town of Chenango, north of Binghamton.

Months in the making, the hot dog restaurant takes over the space previously occupied by Pinkies Bakery & Cafe before the bakery moved to the former Friendly’s restaurant at 1148 Upper Front St. Both locations are less than half a mile away from Napierala’s original restaurant, Pinkies BBQ at 1166 Upper Front St.

Napierala’s first venture into the restaurant world was when he operated a hot dog cart about 25 or 30 years ago, he recalls. After spending some time in the corporate world, he felt his family’s roots in the food industry calling him. His grandfather and uncle owned a meat market and butcher shop in the Binghamton area.

In 2010, he decided to answer the request for hot food at an area farmer’s market by opening the Hilltop BBQ food truck. The truck was well-received and, in 2017, Napierala and his wife and business partner, Rachel Richmond, decided to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant. The eateries operate under Pinkies Barbeque and Catering LLC.

“Things were going along well,” he says of Pinkies BBQ, so the couple began talking about opening another business. Richmond has a culinary background, specifically in baking, so the pair signed a lease in the fall of 2019 with plans to open Pinkies Bakery & Cafe the following spring. Less than two weeks after the bakery opened in March 2020, much of the state shuttered amid the COVID pandemic. 

The bakery was eventually able to fully open and really took off, Napierala says. “We quickly outgrew the space,” he says. “It was pretty small.” When the opportunity arose about a year and a half ago to lease the former Friendly’s location, he jumped on it. After more than $100,000 in renovations and additional investment in new doughnut-making equipment, Pinkies Bakery & Cafe moved in October 2022.

Pinkies still held the lease on the bakery’s old location, Napierala says, so it just made sense to dream up a third concept to fill that spot. “We thought, ‘Hey, let’s do a hot dog joint,’” he recalls. “Most people love a hot dog.”

Work to prep the site was minimal and mostly involved moving in equipment Pinkies already owned, he says. The décor was updated with a fun pop-art feel. Napierala also added a self-order kiosk.

“It was a hard decision for me because I’m big on customer service,” he says of the kiosk. The decision was a business one, especially since it’s hard to find employees, he says. Customers have received it well, and he’s considering adding a second kiosk.

Rather than just your basic dogs, Pinkies puts a spin on things, serving up specialty dogs including a Chicago dog with ingredients brought in from Chicago. A Korean dog adds kimchi and gochujang sauce and the Pinkies cowboy dog features Pinkies BBQ pulled pork and barbecue sauce. The restaurant also serves a variety of poutine dishes.

“We’re taking a simple thing and just elevating it,” Napierala says. He follows the same concept at all his locations. The bakery is known for its over-the-top doughnut creations.

Food can bring back memories, he says, recalling how his mother brought him along shopping on Saturdays when he was a child. 

“If we were good, we’d stop at this one bakery and get a brownie or a halfmoon cookie,” he says. “We’re trying to create memories for a new generation.”

Between the three restaurants, Pinkies employs between 25 and 30 people and is looking to hire more staff.