CityView Magazine

30 | July 2020 T he old Carolina Soda Shop was a destination for downtown merchants and high school teenagers in the late 1940s, 1950s and even into the early 1970s, and where you could find the willowy owner serving up hot dogs, with a dill pickle slice in the middle of your dog. Ah, the Fourth of July – a day for gathering around the outdoor grill, for celebrating a nation's liberty, and not to forget the burgers and the hot dogs slathered in mustard and chili and a spoonful of coleslaw. Everybody has their favorite hamburger place. ere's Melvin's down in Elizabethtown, a must-stop if you are heading to White Lake or on further for a day on Wrightsville Beach. And Johnson's up Siler City way. But when it comes to hot dogs, some of us will tell you nobody made 'em better than the late Bill Crawley, who once owned and operated the old Carolina Soda Shop, when it was adjacent to the Carolina eater downtown. "I remember it fondly," Johnny Fermanides says. "e Crawleys were a wonderful couple, and had the best hot dogs ever." Bill and Urbanna Crawley opened the Carolina Soda Shop in 1933 at the corner of Hay and Pittman streets, right where the Fayetteville Police Department stands today and just across the street from the old Prince Charles Hotel and our Segra Stadium, home of the Fayetteville Woodpeckers. Hot dogs at the stadium aren't bad. But Bill Crawley and his hot dogs were something else, and you can ask just about any teenager who grew up attending the old Fayetteville High School, when it stood along Robeson Street in the 1940s and 1950s. FASCINATING FAYETTEV ILLE Bill Crawley and His Hot Dogs Were Something Else By Bill Kirby Jr. It was the place to be aer the school bell would ring. Bill Crawley was a willowy fellow, and forever a familiar figure in his white apron, bowtie and chef 's cap cocked up on his head. He loved his customers who crammed into the tiny soda shop with probably no more than six booths, and customers loved Bill Crawley. Something else you might like to know. Among Bill and Urbanna Crawley's customers were Gen. George Patton, who paid a visit when the Army legend once was staying at the Prince Charles Hotel, former N.C. Gov. Terry Sanford and Larry, Curly and Moe of ree Stooges vaudeville, television and motion picture comedic fame. Fresh-squeezed orangeades were a favorite, and vanilla, chocolate and strawberry milkshakes, too. A chicken salad sandwich was a delight or a BLT or a hamburger with lettuce and tomato. But Bill Crawley's hot dogs … well, they were the best. ey were deep-fried, and sliced with a dill pickle in the center. Don't believe I ever had a hot dog with a dill pickle, but I sure had plenty of them at the Carolina Soda Shop, and they were hot dogs you never forgot. "ey served the best hot dogs around, grilled and pressed down," Dan MacMillan Jr. once recalled. "ere was nothing like it. I think they were a nickel." Bill Crawley's hot dogs were more than a nickel when I came along. But just as good from one generation to the next. Bill Crawley closed his Carolina Soda Shop in 1978, the same year the Carolina eater was shuttered. He died at age 80 on July 28, 1992, and Mrs. Crawley died three years later. But close your eyes for a moment. Dri back in time. You'll see the teenagers gathering aer school at the Carolina Soda Shop in a time of innocence. You'll see Bill Crawley decked out in the white apron, wearing his bowtie and with the chef 's cap cocked to the side of his head. Look behind the soda fountain counter, and you'll see Mrs. Crawley, too. ey were the best of days past. Where Bill Crawley made the best hot dog, you could ever eat, with a dill pickle. Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at bkirby@cityviewnc.com or 910-624-1961 But when it comes to hot dogs, some of us will tell you nobody made 'em better than the late Bill Crawley, who once owned and operated the old Carolina Soda Shop, when it was adjacent to the Carolina eater downtown.

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