Huntington, WV
Smith's Midway Drive-In, a drive-in hot dog stand in the 400 block of West 6th Avenue first opened its doors in 1939. Wednesday, after two years of financial struggle, Midway has reopened its doors.

Smith's Midway Drive-In was first shut down in February of 2006 due to delinquent back taxes. A lawsuit was later brought against Midway for over $24,000 in employee compensation that was also delinquent.

Now, under the new ownership of Bill Ghiz and Corey Hutchinson, Midway is once again open for business. All of the financial issues were settled and Ghiz and Hutchinson acquired the building this week after leasing for a year, Hutchinson said.

The store, renamed Midway West, was filled with customers eager to once again taste a piece of Huntington history.

"We have been waiting for this place to open for two years," said Carol Crossan, 68. "My mother and I have lived across the street for 66 years. She sent me over here today to get her something. We were very sad when they first had to close."

Some customers waited for over two hours to get their food, but people were anxious about the hot dogs that they missed so much.

"How can you not be a fan of a hot dog and even call yourself an American?" said customer Jerry Cartwright while he patiently waited for his food.

A large staff of waiters hustled from vehicle to vehicle trying to keep up with what ended up being a very large crowd turnout. The large crowd came despite little advertising about their opening.

"We are extremely happy to be here, but we still have some kinks to work out. We were very excited about the support from the community today even though we tried to have a soft, word of mouth opening." said Hutchinson

Originally published online here: http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/x988039572/Midway-Drive-In-reopens-its-doors