The Roanoke Weiner Stand on Brandon Avenue will reopen next month, though this time, the nephew of former owner Gus Pappas will be running the show.

Gus Chacknes and his wife, Melissa, are reviving the popular Roanoke hot dog shop that closed abruptly in May.

"A lot of customers wanted it back open," said Gus Chacknes, who owns the business under a new corporation, Roanoke Weiner Stand Lee Hi Inc.

Since May, people who are unaware that the Weiner Stand closed have pulled into the parking lot, expecting to buy a hot dog. Steven Morris, who will manage the restaurant, said he's seen five cars come into the parking lot in a one-hour period.

"There wasn't a plan to reopen until Gus started hearing from the customers," said Morris, who is Gus Chacknes' brother-in-law.

The reasons for the Weiner Stand's May closing are unclear. Pappas owed the state of Virginia unpaid litter taxes and taxes withheld from employees' checks from 2005 to 2007. That amount, a total of $17,616.01, plus another state tax lien of $57,243.69, have been paid, according to documents filed in Roanoke Circuit Court.

The Weiner Stand is a well-known name because of its tiny downtown Roanoke shop on Campbell Avenue, open since 1916. The Brandon Avenue location was incorporated in 1984. Pappas owned the businesses, while Gus Chacknes managed the downtown Weiner Stand.

Because of illness, Pappas gradually is giving up the reins, said Gus Chacknes. In August, he sold the 2,034-square-foot Weiner Stand building at 3601 Brandon Ave. to Donald Bandy for $250,000, according to city property records. He still owns the downtown business.

Gus Chacknes took over the Brandon Avenue business from his uncle, but no money changed hands, he said Monday.

He does not yet know the specific date for reopening, though Melissa Chacknes said they are shooting for Oct. 12.

Once the doors open, regulars will find the familiar hot dog business with the bright blue roof, the same menu and even some of the same employees.