Ken Baumgarten, who’s been serving up hot dogs and smiles to late-night patrons for the last six and a half years in downtown State College, announced on Sunday afternoon that he’s decided to “hang up his tongs” and close Ken’s Best Wurst.
“My increasing age and decreasing civility in the community are a perfect recipe for burnout,” Baumgarten said.
Ken’s Best Wurst, which set up shop four nights a week at the Garner Street Lot, had been a popular attraction for late night food, particularly among inebriated bar- and party-goers.
“As I’ve always said, 99.96 percent of my customers are a delight,” he added, “but the remaining fraction has become sufficiently insufferable to overshadow the rest.”
After 6.5 years, & a couple hundred thousand hot dogs, it is time to hang up my tongs. Much love & thanks to my awesome customers. We Are!
— Ken’s Best Wurst (@KensBestWurst) October 29, 2017
Baumgarten suspended his Thursday services last fall after a “sharp increase in violence & aggression, & a decline in civility.” At the time he said drunken fights and violence seemed to be escalating, especially on Thursday nights.
Apparently things haven’t improved since then.
