Does MPHS have photographs: Yes
Address: 1706 E. Kensington
Is building standing: Yes
What is at site: Photo’s Hot Dogs
When was business founded: October 30, 1989
Is business still operating: No, the Mount Prospect location closed in 2019
Who owned business: Jim Photopoulos
Interesting stories, facts, history:
Jim Photopoulos got the nickname “Photo” when he was a high school student in Buffalo Grove and it stuck. Photo started working in restaurants when he was ten years old. His family ran The Round Table in Libertyville, The Forum in Arlington Heights and Artemis and Sunrise Pancake House in Mount Prospect. When he finished college he worked managing the Artemis Restaurant while looking for a spot to start his own restaurant. In 1989 he found a spot near the Kensington Business center and set things in motion. After opening the store he started a major promotional campaign, brining fliers and free hot dogs and shakes over to the receptionists at Kensington trying to drum up business. This worked and he soon had a lunch rush, sometimes serving over 300 people in an hour. He has used his successful business to give back to the community as well, offering many different clubs and organizations free food or discounts. He received both the Sam Walton Business Leader of the Year award from Wal-Mart and the Business Leader of the Year Award from the Mount Prospect Chamber of Commerce.
If you ordered delivery from Photo’s Hot Dogs in the 1990s, chances are your food was brought to you in this vehicle. Jim Photopoulos, the owner of Photo’s Hot Dogs, used a retired 26-year-old ambulance as his delivery truck. It was dubbed the “Photomobile.” In the early 2000s, the ambulance was replaced with a VW Bug.
