Driving along West Liberty Avenue it's easy to miss the rundown building with the cardboard "Yes We're Open" sign hanging in the window. Tucked in between the megasized car dealerships of the avenue's auto row is a tiny hot dog shop called Hank's Dog House.

	Pam Panchak, Post-Gazette Hank's Dog House owner Michele Moroney prepares two of many hot dogs during lunch Friday. Casey O'Connell works alongside Moroney making another order while Moroney's son Michael Walsh, 19, helps out at the counter. Click photo for larger image.

In place just north of Brookline Boulevard since 1967, Hank's has withstood competition from fast-food restaurants, including a Wendy's across the street.

But now, it may face extinction as a result of the expansion of a nearby auto dealership.

The idea of Hank's being razed or relocated appalls Bill Wimer, a Brookline native and South Park resident who eats at the Dog House several times a week.

"They can't take this building away," said Wimer, who has eaten at Hank's for 35 years. "This is a landmark just like the cannon on Brookline Boulevard," he said.

Michele Moroney, who has owned the shop for the past 11 years, said the property was sold to the Rohrich Automotive Group. However, she has been told her business can stay until the end of the year.

So far, she hasn't been able to find another spot along West Liberty Avenue and isn't certain if the shop will thrive if she moves it elsewhere.

"To move from this corridor, it's gonna kill me. I've got to find somewhere real close," said Moroney, a Brookline native, who like many of her customers, ate at the shop as a child.

Tom Hinds, controller for the Rohrich Automotive Group, said he and Rohrich owner David Rohrich understand Moroney's plight and the feelings of the shop's customers. They hope the dealership will be able to help find her another location on West Liberty Avenue.

Hinds said Rohrich purchased a Honda dealership, which it wants to move to West Liberty Avenue, and plans to renovate its Cadillac dealership. The firm expects to locate either the Honda or Cadillac dealership across the street from Hank's and use the restaurant property for a used car lot.

"Michele is a nice lady and we understand how her customers feel and people here feel the same way. We're hoping this works out," Hinds said.

Verbal agreeement

Moroney said she operated under a month-to-month verbal agreement with the previous landlord, so she realizes that Rohrich officials were not required to allow her to remain for any period of time.

	Pam Panchak, Post-Gazette Hank's Dog House owner Michele Moroney has known since fall that the property had been sold Click photo for larger image.

She's known since November that the property had been sold and that she likely faced moving by the end of the year. Only recently has she been sharing the news with customers.

Longtime regulars claim to remember restaurant founder Hank and his wife, but don't recall the couple's last name.

Before Moroney and her former husband bought the shop, it had been operated by a second owner for about two years.

When Moroney took over the business, she said she made no changes and most of the regulars stayed. "Business has been steady year-round and I've made a good living. I'll never be a millionaire, but I really enjoy doing this. I get to see everybody I know here."

The shop has just enough room behind the counter for Moroney and employees to work the grill and soda fountain. There is space on the other side of the counter to accommodate several people standing two deep.

On busy days, the crowd spills onto the sidewalk. It's the kind of place where the cooks know the first names and regular orders of many customers.

The shop has endured despite, or perhaps because of, its simplicity. The menu has three items -- hot dogs, hamburgers and fries. The dogs and burgers come plain or with cheese or chili made from a secret recipe. Hank's special is a hot dog with mustard, chili and onion.

"The chili is what a lot of people come for," Moroney said.

Rob Brownlee, Seton-LaSalle High School's softball coach, said he has been eating at Hank's for 20 years. Last week he lunched there with buddy Mark Canello, who said he has been eating there for 15 years.

Brownlee said the food at Hank's is "quick, easy, consistent and good," and Canello said "you always get a good mix of people in the crowd."

Mixed crowd

On weekdays, the lunch crowd is a mixture of local residents and employees who work in the businesses along West Liberty Avenue, and business people driving along the stretch to and from Downtown.

On Saturdays, it's mostly families with children. A relative newcomer to Hank's is Stacy Mancino, who moved to Brookline three years ago.

Mancino was picking up lunch at Hank's last week while carrying her 18-month-old daughter, Lilianna, on her hip. "The chili here is really good," Mancino said.

Sean Murphy, of Overbrook, said he eats lunch at Hank's every weekday before going to work in Lawrenceville and on Saturdays between working on his side business of detailing cars. On Sundays, when the shop is closed, Murphy said he "puts something in the microwave."

"I see a lot of people I know here. The atmosphere is friendly and the food is good and fast," said Murphy, who also ate at Hank's as a child.

He's not sure what he will do if Hank's closes. "I guess I'll have to learn to cook."