Fire at famed Cotton Avenue Nu-Way a gut punch for nostalgic locals
An office worker on a Friday-afternoon cigarette break watched from the sidewalk.
Across Cotton Avenue, flames at the Nu-Way had long been extinguished.
Firefighters were packing up as dazed restaurant folks salvaged framed pictures from charred walls.
By then the flames had done their damage.
The hallowed wiener stand, a gastrointestinal institution since 1916, was gutted.
For fans of the legendary chili-dog eatery, it was perhaps the harshest blow to the stomach of all.
Word of the fire spread like warm mustard. Ketchup if you prefer.
“It was catastrophic,” said the woman across the street on her smoke break. “My brother works in Brunswick, and he said he had to take the day off.”
When they vanish, no matter how they go, beloved hole-in-the-wall diners leave the most gaping wounds.
“It’s just always had that little nostalgic feel to it,” Lt. Michael Stone of the Macon-Bibb County Fire Department said. “There’s a feeling of going back in time.”
Macon-Bibb County Commissioner Gary Bechtel, who works nearby and eats at the Nu-Way most every Friday, said, “I am going to be homeless in terms of lunch until (they) get it built back.”
Nu-Way co-owner Jim Cacavias’ cellphone was flooded with messages from well-wishers.
“It’s been humbling,” he said.
Meanwhile, folks took to social media to share memories of the landmark lunch counter:
When my sister and brother-in-law were married in the Fall of 2012, aka football season, I was in charge of picking up 100 Nu-Way dogs, “without.” This was to be a late-night snack during the wedding reception that was being held at a beautiful farm in north Monroe County. ... From the loading dock of the Cotton Avenue location to the wedding venue was about a 30-minute drive. Needless to say, while driving and listening to my Ole Miss Rebels on the AM radio dial, the wedding party was exactly two dogs light by the time I made it back to the reception. I’d go a long way for a Nu-Way.
-- Davey Keys, Macon
I was so sad to hear about the loss of one of Macon’s landmarks. When I was pregnant with both my children, I worked at Southern Trust Insurance, which was located across the street from Nu-Way at that time. Every morning for breakfast, I would get a grilled cheese sandwich with extra pickles inside, and everyday on my 3 p.m. break I would get a Nu-Way hotdog for “snack.” Eventually, the ladies who worked there would have them waiting on me before I could cross the street. I have no idea how I didn’t gain 100 pounds.
-- Lisa Borst, Macon
My son was studying at Arizona State, and he missed home, especially the Nu-Way. So, I bought a dozen Nu-Ways and flew them out to Tempe, Arizona. I froze them the night before I left, and they held up very well. Needless to say, I made major points with my son! I live in New York now, but whenever I go home, the first place I hit is the Nu-Way.
-- Brenda K. Lester, Rhinebeck, N.Y.
I graduated from Mount de Sales with (Nu-Way owner Spyros Dermatas). I went on to be commissioned as an officer in the Navy. Throughout my Navy career, fellow officers would note the (still!) strong Southern accent and ask my hometown -- Macon of course. So many of them would tell me about a father, uncle or cousin who remembered the wonderful hot dogs from Macon I got when I was on a World War II troop train heading out for the war, and I would always get the same question: “Do they still have those great hot dogs in Macon?” I would always say, from coast to coast, from ship to ship, from sub to shore station, and from all my overseas assignments: “Of course the Nu-Way is still there, and they make the best chili dogs anywhere, and the best slaw dogs” ... always had to explain a slaw dog to the non-Southerners. ... I hope every veteran plans on making a trip in to Nu-Way to support the rebuilding by getting a dog “all the way” or a slaw dog! Whenever we visit family in Macon, we make a point of stopping by Nu-Way on our way out of town to pick up a dozen to take home. They freeze well!
-- Kathy Kelley Gillespie, Green Cove Springs, Fla.
My son and I eat at the Cotton Avenue location almost every Saturday. There’s something about this location that is just better. It’s not that the other locations are bad, they’re just not as good as Cotton Avenue. I’ve grown up on Nu-Way hotdogs, and after reading about the fire (Friday morning) I am just sick to my stomach. I’m glad no one was injured, but they have got to get this place rebuilt quickly.
-- Lee Echols, Fort Valley
This story was originally published March 13, 2015 at 5:26 PM with the headline "Fire at famed Cotton Avenue Nu-Way a gut punch for nostalgic locals ."