The Arbor in Port Dover ON - Independent Hot Dog Restaurants on Waymarking.com

Very popular location during the summer beach months, this is one of the most well known locations in Port Dover. People drive from far away to get a hot dog here. The Schneider Family is not just known for this restaurant but also in the food industry across Canada.

It is important to point out that Port Dover hosts a motorcycle rally on every Friday the 13th, so the town is very busy and you may wish to avoid it on those days.

A very interesting article written for InPortDover.com details the restaurant and the reconstruction of 2006. It is provided below.

Port Dover’s famous Arbor restaurant will mark its 80th anniversary in 2006. When it opens in March the familiar landmark will have been rebuilt. The popular Arbor footlong hot dogs, French fries, ice cream and, its trade mark beverages, Golden Glow will all be prepared and served in a new building with new equipment six months from now. Invited tender bids will be opened on September 16. The successful contractor has to demolish the existing buildings then build a completely new structure and have it ready for a mid-March 2006 opening. “It was time years ago for this to happen,” Arbor co-owner Tony Schneider jr. told The Maple Leaf this week. His brother and co-owner, Andrew commented “this is an exciting project and it will improve the corner. We are happy to have a plan which will have more seating for our customers.” The new design is the work of Senior Design Planner Paula Burns of Design Matrix Inc. located in London, Ontario. Engineering for the project is the responsibility of David Bennett from G. Douglas Vallee Ltd. of Simcoe. The new Arbor will have the same footprint on the ground as the existing building. When the demolition is complete only one building will remain. The storage building at the westerly edge of the property (along side the Erie Beach Hotel) will remain and continue to be a storage facility. The entire Main Street frontage will be customer serving areas. There will be counter space for the hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken breast on a bun with all the condiments and beverages; the next counter will serve ice cream; and the northerly counter will serve French fries. Andrew Schneider commented that they are considering expanding their choices of ice cream treats. Working areas behind the counters are designed to have a better flow for increased efficiency. Along the Walker Street side of the Arbor building will be a sidewalk patio with seating for about 40 people. There will be a plexiglass roof over lattice work above the patio which will allow light to flow in but be a shelter from rain. That side will also have entrances to public washrooms and an ATM machine. Improved and expanded outdoor seating will also be along the northerly side of the building.Besides expanded space inside the building for better work areas the plan calls for an office and staff room. The exterior surface will be board and batten with wooden accents. Signage across the front of the new Arbor will be reminiscent of the present familiar look. The interior walls visible to customers are to be faced with decorative ceramic tiles in summertime hues. Co-owner Tony Schneider jr. expressed the brothers’ delight with designer Paula Burns, saying “she has offered a lot of good design ideas.” Both men admitted they left a lot of the planning work to the experts. Tony jr. and Andrew purchased the Arbor when the Ryerse family listed it for sale in 1984. At that time the brothers were 19 and 18 years old. The Arbor was established in 1919 by Carl S. Ryerse at its present location, the corner of Main and Walker Streets. It was operated for many years by his sons, the late Victor and Vernon Ryerse.

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