The Worcester Hot Dog Safari

Irena Kaci

Worcester’s culinary landscape may have leveled up over the past two decades, but there’s always room for well loved classics. The Hot Dog Safari has turned the hot dog into the focus of a delightful, albeit intense, city-wide competition turned fundraiser since 2011. Despite its playful name, this event that started with childhood friends, has elevated local small businesses, combatted food insecurity and has become a summer staple.

The Hot Dog Safari is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, but it began in the mid 1990s with a group of childhood friends. Worcester public school teacher, “Big Bob” Mahoney, had summers off and looked after the neighborhood kids while their parents were at work. His son, Tom Mahoney, had fond memories of piling into the back of Big Bob’s pickup truck with his brother Sean and their friends to find the best hot dogs in the city and surrounding areas. Big Bob even designed a simple scorecard on index paper for the kids to rate each location on five categories: bun, dog, toppings, presentation and value.

Fast forward to 2011, Tom Mahoney was sharing millennial hot dog memories after a chili dog eating contest victory and his friends were instantly hooked. Comedian Bryan O’Donnell remembers, “He thought it would be fun to bring the Safari back, so I was brought in immediately.” 30 people attended the inaugural Hot Dog Safari, all friends and family, many of whom are still involved today. The following year, the tight knit group decided they should have a reason for indulging in hot dogs all day and decided to use the Safari as a fundraising opportunity for food insecurity. Mahoney thought it would be a good idea to put his efforts toward a laudable goal. “As it started to take on more people, I thought the best way to grow something is to do it for a good cause. And, fighting against food insecurity seemed like the obvious choice.” 

Since its inception, the Hot Dog Safari has raised approximately $50,000 for the Worcester County Food Bank with revenues coming from participation fees, merchandise sales and sponsorships from local businesses. The event shirt’s color is unique to each Safari, and can be preordered along with a digital score card at www.thehotdogsafari.org, but everything else is first come first serve at the Safari. This includes fanny packs, beach towels, sunglasses and more with something special debuting each year.

This year‘s official Safari t-shirts will again boast the logos of mainstays Cove Automotive, Morris Car Care Center, and NJG landscaping, among others. As a consumer, Mahoney prioritizes supporting small, local businesses that, in turn, support The Safari. “The idea for us has always been that everybody likes to get involved with fun things and this is a great way to get that engagement,” he explains, “These small businesses that maybe don’t have a huge marketing budget, now have their name on the back of 800 shirts. The idea was always to kind of focus on small businesses. That’s our big thing. A lot of people do this because they are big foodies. We’re big Worcester people.”

The 2025 Safari brought in $13,220 from the one day event, but with fundraising efforts throughout the year they were able to donate a total of $20,000 to the Worcester County Food Bank. A karaoke contest to support the loss of SNAP benefits at the Wooden Bar (4 Knowlton Ave) raised a whopping $3,000 last November. The Safari and Worcester Youth Flag Football partner to host a nonperishable food drive that includes a meet and greet with the real Santa Claus at George’s Coney Island every December. There’s also the Top Dog eating contest every June at Ralphs Rock Diner, and the King Ralph’s Renaissance Faire is returning for a second year on August 1. The Safari crew never misses a chance to help folks in need, and officially gained nonprofit status in 2025. “We started this to have fun and thought maybe we could raise a little money off the people we know to help people in the city who need it, now we’re a real organization with real responsibilities, it’s pretty incredible,” says O’Donnell.

O’Donnell recalls the early days fondly, highlighting the incredible community support that The Safari has enjoyed from the start. “It’s impossible to list all the amazing people that have supported Safari over the years; literally thousands of friends. We couldn’t do this without all of the competitors who have taken part, every one of them joining in just for the love of the game,” he says, adding “We evolve every year, we’re always learning more and getting more folks coming out and helping us continually improve. Now 15 years later we’re not only donating thousands of dollars every year but we now have Safaris running in four other cities around the country.”

One of the evolutions includes satellite locations outside of Massachusetts event. The expansion first began in NOLA with Turkey and the Wolf Chef Bobby O’Donnell in 2022, and quickly spread to Naples, FL, Austin, TX and Portland, ME. All of these cities use the Worcester model. In fact, at each new city, devoted Worcesterites arrive ready to participate and pave the way. The only rule is the donation from the Safari has to go to food insecurity. Each location can pick whatever the best version is their city, with NOLA donating to the Free Fridges and Portland giving to the Locker Project. 

Casey O’Donnell (yes there are more O’Donnells and they’re all brothers) has also been with the Hot Dog Safari since those early days in 2011, and has remained involved in some capacity every year. “[Supporters have] always been the people of Worcester. Too many to name but they have always shown up and it has grown every year. They have even supported our other cities when they launch. The first year we did New Orleans in 2022 half the crowd was from Worcester. Same with Portland, ME last September, a huge number of supporters came up. It really sets the tone for the other cities when we have the professionals from Worcester come show the rookies how it’s done.” While this was not the original plan, the Hot Dog Safari has sort of taken on a life of its own.

Despite the growth over the last 15 years, a record 800 people attended in 2025, the Hot Dog Safari naturally remained rooted in its history. Big Bob Mahoney is still completely intertwined, he cooks for the Top Dog Competition, helps book competitors and sells merch on Safari day. Even the score card remains true to its original categories: dog, bun, toppings, presentation and value. Last year’s winner, Namaste Woo (160 Green St) in the Worcester Public Market, used their flavor profile to their advantage and created the Indian food inspired, Desi Hot Dog. Previous winners include Mama Roux, and Bert’s Breakfast and Lunch. For venues tempted to simply buy up the most expensive ingredients in hopes of creating a truly luxurious creation and therefore a winning hot dog, the scorecard’s value category keeps the playing field level.

Bryan O’Donnell struggled to commit to a favorite hot dog at first, but then landed on the same experience as Connolly, picking Sully’s Dog Shack’s Apple Pie Dog. “I like just about every hot dog I’ve ever had,” says O’Donnell, “But this is a great example of how wild the dogs can get on the Safari: A grilled hot dog with literal apple pie filling and cheddar cheese on top. One of the most surprising and delicious things I’ve ever tasted. And every year competitors come up with some amazing concepts that will really blow your mind.”

As for Casey O’Donnell, his favorite dog is from the Art Bradish Snack Bar, a little stand in North Grafton. He admits it might not be the most exciting pick, but the location has come very close to winning multiple times, presumably for sticking with the classics. “It wasn’t from any crazy toppings (I got mustard relish and onions), but just the way they grill the dogs and toast the buns,” O’Donnell recalls, “It still stands out to me as one of the more memorable experiences on a Safari.”

No matter your culinary inclinations, there is every reason to think that The Hot Dog Safari will deliver, as it has many times for 15 years now. More than just a meal, or just a competition, The Safari is an experience, a quintessential Worcester delicacy that captures the old world lines of Worcester’s working class roots, as well as its diverse inventive future. Casey O’Donnell really captured it in his anecdote over his Art Bradish hotdog experience. “A big group of us all got there at the same time so it was the perfect Safari moment when you run into new and old friends without planning it and experiencing the Safari the way it is supposed to be experienced: surrounded by friends and family, eating entirely too many hot dogs in one day until the nitrates takeover and you start hallucinating visions of dogs and buns and charity in a swarm of euphoria.”

The 2026 Hot Dog Safari starts at 11AM at Ralph’s Rock Diner on August 15. Take it from a pro and get there early because there’s always a line to buy score cards and merch for the day. Digital score cards and official event t-shirts can be purchased ahead of time at www.thehotdogsafari.org. You can find updates, participating locations and all things Hot Dog Safari their website or @worcesterhotdogsafari on Instagram and Facebook.