Despite nearly a year of preparations, owner Randy Walters announced Pittsburgh Willy’s won’t be moving into a small house behind SanTan Brewing in downtown Chandler after all.
The hot dog shop instead will move into the same downtown space with its recently opened burger shop sibling Wimpy’s Paradise (pictured above).
Walters’ original plan was to move Pittsburgh Willy’s from its longtime home in the Merchant’s Square antique mall about two miles south to the converted house in February. Then he planned to open Wimpy’s this fall.
Plans went awry when the Wimpy’s space became available many months earlier than expected. So just days after closing Pittsburgh Willy’s in February, Walters opened Wimpy’s, putting the former’s move on the back burner.
The situation was further complicated by a series of well-publicized adversities Walters experienced.
“Wimpy’s Paradise has been a much bigger learning curve for me, using both resources and finances that I underestimated,” Walters writes on Facebook. “Combine that with the slow summers that plague most Arizona businesses along with my health issues and you have a perfect storm of stress and pressure.”
The good news for Pittsburgh Willy’s fans is that its full menu soon will be available at Wimpy’s Paradise, including pierogi on Wednesday.
“Our plans are to work relentlessly at our shared location and when things turn around, re-open another stand-alone Pittsburgh Willy’s location,” Walters says.
