Steve's Snappin' Dogs Closes Saturday. Here's What We'll Miss.

"It's getting a little weird," admitted Steve Ballas as he worked the counter at his East Colfax hot dog stand one week ahead of its last day in business on Saturday, October 19, when it will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Two decades ago, Steve and his wife, Linda (who is also the daughter of Blinky the Clown, an OG Denver television icon), opened Steve's Snappin' Dogs at 3525 East Colfax Avenue.

How a hot dog stand landed on Colfax

Steve's story, which hangs on a series of signs in the stand's dining area, is winding. He grew up in Connecticut and always had a passion for feeding people and helping others, which led to a career in firefighting and, later, law enforcement. After moving to Boulder in 1978, he became a reserve deputy with the Boulder County Sheriff’s Department and worked part-time in the kitchen at the Boulder Broker Inn.

He met Linda the following year, and after a move to Virginia, they opened their first restaurant together, Corporate Deli and Grill. But in 1994, Linda was diagnosed with breast cancer. By 1996, she was cancer-free but wanted to return to Denver to be closer to family.
Steve and Linda opened a new Corporate Deli downtown in 1997. "This deli was a challenge for us as it was in the back of the original high rise in Denver, the Denver Club Building," reads Steve's story on the hot dog stand's website. "There was no street frontage so it was hard to attract the business. This was until Kyle Wagner, the [former] food writer for Westword put us on the map. In 1998, there was no category for 'Sandwiches,' but one was invented by Kyle and we won Westword’s Best Sandwiches in Denver and our business soared once again."

They ran the business until 2002, then took a break from the food world. A brief break. That December, a hot dog cart that Steve spotted outside of a Home Depot sparked an idea.

Steve's Snappin' Dogs launched as a food truck in 2004, slinging dogs at the Cherry Creek, Stapleton and Evergreen farmers' markets.

The business opened in its permanent home on Colfax on February 20, 2006 — a photo album sitting on the counter as its last day nears shows the process, and the team celebrating at the grand opening.

It's been a long run for Steve's Snappin' Dogs, where business has been slow since the pandemic. But since announcing the closure, fans have come out in droves. A line wrapped around the place by noon on its second-to-last Saturday, so anyone planning to get one last fix on October 19 should expect to wait a bit — though it's totally worth it.

Why is Steve's closing?

One major factor is that Linda's cancer is back. Steve also battled and beat kidney cancer after being diagnosed in 2016. And at age seventy, "I'm tired," Steve admits. "What I did with hot dogs is pretty frickin' amazing. When I opened, the only other hot dogs were Wienerschnitzel, Home Depot and Mustard's Last Stand. People told me I'd never make it opening a hot dog stand on Colfax, but it's been a very good twenty years. I've made a lot of people happy, and it's always better to go out on top."

Will the airport location stay open?

Yes, but only for the next 18 to 24 months, according to Steve.

What we'll miss

The snappy dogs, of course, from the classic Chicago dog to the chili-doused Atlanta Slaw Dog, the deep-fried Chimi Dog, the Rippin' Rockies Dog with green chile and sour cream, and the Denver Dog wrapped in a flour tortilla.

The greasy-in-the-right way burgers. The nacho cheese-loaded Frito pie and the panko-crusted onion rings. The chocolate-covered frozen bananas on a stick and the summer favorite frozen hot chocolate.

But mostly, we'll miss seeing Steve, greeting guests and taking orders in his hot dog hat, handing out hot dog-shaped gummy candy to kids and spreading positivity on a street that sometimes has a rough reputation but is beloved by so many because of the contribution of people like Steve and Linda Ballas.

What's moving in?

There is a new husband-and-wife team set to take over the space. "It will be closed for about a month, then Mama Jo's Biscuits & BBQ will open," Ballas says. Mama Jo's is a three-year-old food truck launched by Ben Polson and his wife, Jodi, who is also the pastry chef at Coperta. "They want to continue what I've done, giving back to the city. It's a great way to continue the legacy," Ballas notes.

They'll also continue to serve some of Steve's Snappin' dogs and burgers along with Steve's Snappin' Ale, which will continue to be poured at Bull & Bush, as well.