The future of Toby’s Cup, a tiny hot dog shack on the side of Route 22, isn’t exactly a secret.
“Any luck with a buyer?” one customer asked owner James Nicnick on a fairly busy Wednesday evening.
“Oh, I got a buyer,” Nicnick replied from behind the counter as he worked. “Just a matter of signing the papers.”
It’s true: The beloved family-run doggie stand just outside of Phillipsburg, which has stood since the 1940s, will be changing ownership, lehighvalleylive.com has learned. Nicnick confirmed the pending sale to a reporter as he served up Toby’s signature hot dog – fried in oil and loaded with mustard, onions and pickle spears.
Owner James Nicnick deep-fries hot dogs behind the counter at Toby's Cup in Lopatcong Township, just east of the Phillipsburg border on Memorial Parkway.Jim Deegan | lehighvalleylive.com file photo
The prospective buyer is Daniel Risis, a 37-year-old from Essex County who has a successful pawnshop business around New Jersey, is known for helping baseball player Lenny Dykstra get $80,000 dentures, and is the driving force behind a soon-to-open flea market outlet in Phillipsburg, where another popular business, the Phillipsburg Mall’s Black Rose Antiques & Collectibles, will soon relocate.
The sale of Toby’s Cup could close in a matter of weeks. Risis told lehighvalleylive.com that he could not discuss the sale price but said it includes the hot dog business as well as the surrounding property on Route 22 in Lopatcong Township.
Daniel Risis, of Livingston, talks to the Phillipsburg Town Council on Feb. 4, 2020, about his plans for an indoor flea market he plans to open this spring.Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com
Nicnick didn’t have many details to offer inquiring customers, just that the sale was indeed pending. He’s been working there more than 30 years, taking over the diminutive hot dog stand – where three is literally a crowd and four means you have to wait outside – from his dad. (The origins of the name Toby’s Cup are something of a mystery: Nicnick years ago told lehighvalleylive.com that the spot was originally called Hugo’s, then changed to Toby’s simply because his parents liked the sound of it.)
“Oh god, I hope they don’t change the hot dogs. They’re my favorite,” another customer told Nicnick.
Risis said he respects the Toby’s tradition. He told lehighvalleylive.com that he plans to add indoor seating to the shack and update the surrounding buildings for commercial tenants, but has no intention of changing recipes or staff.
Conceptual renderings show an expanded Toby's Cup and updated surrounding buildings. Daniel Risis will present his formal plans to Lopatcong Township after the sale is complete.Renderings courtesy Daniel Risis
Part of the challenge of taking over a legacy business, he said, is to make upgrades but not so many changes that loyal customers are scared off.
After the sale closes, Risis said he will formally present his plans to Lopatcong Township for approval.
Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveNovakLVL and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
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February 06, 2020 at 07:00PM
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Sale pending for Toby’s Cup, a beloved Route 22 roadside hot dog shack - lehighvalleylive.com
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