- April 28, 2024
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Five contestants battled it out for bragging rights, and $50.
Pete Torrillo and Phil Cruse joke while trying to eat another hot dog.
Wolves Head owner John Breiner jokingly passes along a "safety bucket." Luckily, everyone kept their hot dogs down.
Nick Brockman, a representative from Bold City Brewery, talks strategy with Justin Pope.
Wolves Head prepared 120 Vienna Beef hot dogs.
John Breiner cheers on the competitors during the final seconds of the 8-minute competition.
Pete Torrillo shakes a hot dog at the cheering crowd.
Justin Poppa methodically ate nine hot dogs to win the contest. Poppa said his secret was that he was hungry.
The restaurant's patrons gathered around the table to cheer on the competitors.
Makenzie Poppa, 5, decided to try and compete with her dad, Justin. Makenzie ate two dogs; Justin ate 9. Mother Patti Poppa cheered them both on.
In total, the competitors ate 25.5 hot dogs.
Gail Halmi came to watch her son, Brendan Limbaugh, compete after celebrating his birthday Friday.
Justin Poppa holds up his $50 winning check with Wolves Head owner John Breiner.
Vienna beef was the hot dog of choice for the Wolves Head Pizza and Wings' first annual hotdog eating contest.
John Breiner, owner of the bar and restaurant, said he cooked up 120 dogs for the competition, just to make sure there were enough. Five contestants tried to choke down as many hot dogs as possible in 8 minutes—the winner, Justin Poppa, managed to eat nine. The secret to his success? "Hunger," he said.
Breiner said the contest came about after he and the restaurant staff discussed the hotdog culture back home—a lot of them are from New York and New Jersey, he said. They joked around about betting how many they could eat, and he decided to try out the contest.
Brendan Limbaugh, also a Sarasota resident, works at Wolves Head and entered the contest. He placed second with five hot dogs.
"I had to channel my inner Joey Chestnut," he said.
Pete Torillo, the third place winner, ate four and a half hot dogs. Torillo is a self-proclaimed hot dog enthusiast from New York, and said he prefers Boar's Head skin-on dogs. He also roots for the New York street-dog.
"I like a New York dirty-water hot dog," he said.
After the competition, Wolves Head had a craft beer tasting featuring Bold City Brewery from Jacksonville.
