Bacus Bros. Hot Dogs & Beer brings bierocks to downtown Tempe’s Mill Avenue

Bacus Bros. Hot Dogs & Beer opened Wednesday on the southwest corner of Mill and Fourth Street in downtown Tempe. It takes over the former Silver Mine Subs just off Hayden Square Amphitheater.

Ironically, the eatery’s signature menu item isn’t a hot dog at all, but rather a bierock ($5), an Eastern European version of a calzone. The rolls are baked fresh in-house and stuffed with ground beef, cabbage, onions, and spices.

‘‘They’re absolutely delicious,’’ says owner Brandt Baus, a Nebraska native who uses a longtime family recipe.

Besides bierocks, the menu offers eight specialty dogs:

• B2 Bomber: Hot dog with onions, relish, pepperoncinis, yellow mustard, and jalapenos ($5.5)
• Amanda Kay: Italian sausage with grilled peppers and onions, and sriracha ($6.50)
• Hair of the Polish Dog: Polish sausage with bacon, egg, chili-style mustard, onions, green peppers, and shredded cheese ($8.50)
• Ich Liebe Dich Brat: Bratwurst with grilled onions. peppers, and sauerkraut, and spicy brown beer mustard ($6.5)
• Foghorn Leghorn Sausage: Chicken-and-apple sausage with tomatoes, cole slaw, and horseradish mustard ($7.50)
• Trainwreck: Hot dog with chili, fries, nacho cheese, and sour cream ($8.5)
• Game Day Dog: Hot dog wrapped in foil ($4)

Of course, you also can build your own, choosing your type of dog, bun, vegetables, and condiments.

Side dishes include fries, onion rings, pretzel bites, cole slaw, chili, pickles, potato salad, macaroni salad, and Niobrara beans (Niobrara being a town in Nebraska).

There are six beers on tap – the opening-day tap list included Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA, Odell IPA, North Coast Pranqster, Oskar Blues Old Chub, and Four Peaks Kilt Lifter – at $4-$5 for a 12-ounce glass.

There are another 20-plus beers available in cans and bottles.

Hours are still under consideration, but Bacus says he’ll open at 10:30 or 11 a.m. daily. On Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, he plans to stay open until 3 a.m.