As I’ve written before, Arkansas claims to be the home of cheese dip. Blackie Donnally first served the popular dish at his Mexico Chiquito restaurant (originally called Little Mexico) in Hot Springs in 1936. While Mexico Chiquito’s cheese dip is arguably the most well-known in the Natural State, cheese dip is served in pretty much every nook and cranny eatery in Arkansas.
But what you may not know is that another American favorite delicacy has its roots in Arkansas as well — the cheese dog, a hot dog stuffed with cheese or processed cheese as a filling.
The creation of the cheese dog takes us back to the year 1956. Elvis had become the king of rock and roll and Americans elected Dwight D. Eisenhower for a second term as president. This would also be the year that the Finkbeiner Meat Packing Co. of Little Rock first introduced the delicious cheese-stuffed sausage.
Originally from Germany, the Finkbeiner family arrived in Chicago around 1910. The Finkbeiners made their way to Arkansas and set up a meat packing business in the small town of Fourche in Perry County.
In 1915, the company, led by patriarch Christian Finkbeiner and his sons, Frank and Otto, moved to Little Rock and opened a processing plant at the corner of 9th and High streets. Otto’s other sons, Chris and Paul, later joined the family business as well. While some accounts credit Chris Finkbeiner, we simply don't know who created the cheese dog — that information has been lost to time.
Shortly after the successful launch of the cheese dog, Chris Finkbeiner served two terms as president of the American Meatpackers Association. He entered the Arkansas political arena by unsuccessfully challenging Gov. Orval E. Faubus in the Democratic primary for governor in 1958. Faubus handily defeated Finkbeiner and went onto to become the state’s longest serving chief executive.
That would be Finkbeiner's only foray into politics. Later, he tried his hand as a professional wrestling promoter in Arkansas, but that too proved unsuccessful, as Finkbeiner was unable to compete with an established promoter, Leroy McQuirk, and his popular Mid-South Championship Wrestling promotion.
Popular radio and television personality Volmer “Cactus” Vick served as the Finkbeiner Meat Packing Co.’s longtime spokesman. Vick was one of the top Arkansas media personalities in the post–World War II era. A consummate entertainer, Vick was a combination of magician, ventriloquist, comedian and cowboy.
In the years following the introduction of the cheese dog, Finkbeiner Meat Packing Co. became a multimillion-dollar operation with 150 employees. Finkbeiner’s products were popular across Arkansas and surrounding states including Louisiana and Texas.
On April 2, 1964, Finkbeiner and company executive Lester Hobbs were killed when their twin‐engine plane crashed shortly after takeoff from the municipal airport in Harrison. Finkbeiner was just 42 years old. Without their outgoing leader, Finkbeiner Meat Packing’s sales dwindled and the company was sold to food conglomerate Sara Lee.
Eventually, the idea for the cheese stuffed hot dog was adopted by other meat packing companies. Today, several meat manufacturers such as Oscar Mayer sell stuffed hot dogs with cheese. Petit Jean Meats of Morrilton sells a delicious version of the cheese dog that incorporates both cheese and bacon in its filling.
These days, cheese dogs stuffed inside a corn dog have become popular at local fairs and food truck festivals across Arkansas.
So, the next time you buy a package of cheese dogs at the grocery story or get one at the state fair, you’ll now know that the delicious cheese-stuffed wiener has its origins in Arkansas.
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