CT Insider’s choice for “Best Hot Dogs” in Connecticut, Nikki’s Dog House, opened a new location in Downtown Storrs on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 10:30 a.m.
The family-owned restaurant has been operating out of Putnam, Conn., since 1980, run by John and Sandra Johnson, before their son David and daughter-in-law Cindy Johnson took over in 2010, according to the new restaurant’s history wall. Nikki’s Dog House was bought by Larry and Erica Groh in 2023, with the new Mansfield location falling under the management of their daughter, Ali Groh.
“We have a vision, and we saw an opportunity down here,” Larry Groh said at the grand opening. “We love the Mansfield community, and we wanted to bring that love of Nikki’s down here to Mansfield.”
The grand opening was attended by various Mansfield and Connecticut government officials, including the Executive Director of Mansfield Downtown Partnership Steven Ferrigno, Deputy Mayor of Mansfield Ben Shaiken, Connecticut State Senator Mae Flexer and State Representative Gregg Haddad.
The Groh family was presented with an official citation from the Connecticut General Assembly to congratulate the opening of Nikki’s Dog House.
On behalf of Northeastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce, Elle Sherman, the organization’s executive director, presented a plaque to Nikki’s in honor of the ribbon cutting. Sherman also issued the Groh family a ceremonial ribbon.
“I was in awe,” Larry Groh said about the opening of the restaurant. “Not too often I’m at a loss for words. And I, I was at a loss for words seeing how many people came out today. It was absolutely awesome and wonderful.”
Sherman handed an oversized pair of scissors to Ali Groh, who cut the ribbon herself while surrounded by her family, all wearing Nikki’s Dog House shirts.
“My whole family, that I grew up with, owned restaurants and catering businesses,” Larry Groh said. He added that he plans to integrate that familial sense and that business experience into the new version of Nikki’s Dog House.
After the ribbon was cut, Ali Groh and her new team ducked into the kitchen to get ready to serve the people who attended the opening of Nikki’s Dog House.
Photo by Samantha Brody/The Daily Campus
“Ali is amazing,” Erica Groh said about her daughter. “She has her YouTube channel and a TikTok channel that she does in her spare time, but she’s been doing this full time. I mean, she just is so outgoing and positive and she just loves being here with the community as well. We’re so proud of her.”
Inside Nikki’s Dog House, patrons gathered below the restaurant’s massive menu to pick out their hot dog of choice. The restaurant features bright red stools to match their logo, and on the back wall, a giant, glowing red sign spells out “NIKKIS.”
“But we have a love for our community, a sense for community,” Larry Groh said. “Erica and I are deeply involved in the community, too, not just as business owners, but even before we owned a business.”
Although the menu also features salads, hamburgers and other items, the hot dogs are displayed prominently. Options include the “Mexicali,” the “Cheesy Pig” and, at the top of the list, the “Coney Island,” featuring “the works” and a “famous meat sauce.”
“All our menu items are just, you know, favorites,” Erica Groh said. “That we’ve continued to offer to the community.”
According to Larry Groh, the community is the most important part of deciding a menu to offer to the public.
“That’s how the menu was developed,” Larry Groh said. “It was people that ordered things and they became favorites up in Putnam, and we brought all those loves down here to Storrs. Our biggest one is our Coney dog.”
Among the attendants of the grand opening were members of the Quiet Corner Peep Support Group, a nonprofit focused on supporting first responders and veterans, especially when it comes to mental health difficulties. The organization’s vice president, who is also the fire chief of Dayville, Conn., Michael Shabenas, was in attendance.
“My first job, I was a correctional officer for 20 years with Larry,” Shabenas said. “And we just formed such a brotherhood and a bond. They’re such a good family, they honestly do so much in the area. They’re big supporters of the Veteran’s Coffee House. They’re big into the community and as soon as I started this program, he was instantly, ‘How can I help?’”
Nikki’s Dog House is open every day from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., according to the restaurant’s website.