The Ohio Restaurant Where You'll Find Jimmy Carter's Signature On A Hot Dog Bun

Jimmy Carter, the former Georgia peanut farmer and 39th president of the U.S., naturally has a soft spot for Southern food — grits, fried chicken, collards, and corn on the cob, to name a few. When Carter was in office he would often request for White House chefs to prepare "country food" for himself and the First Lady. But what did a younger Jimmy Carter eat while on the campaign trail, away from his Southern favorites? In Toledo, Ohio, it was hot dogs — Hungarian hot dogs to be exact.

Tony Packo's restaurant was opened in Toledo's first-generation Hungarian neighborhood of Birmingham, when Tony Packo Sr., along with his brothers, created Packo's Original Hot Dog. Using spices and meat familiar to Hungarians, Packo successfully sold the comfort food at reasonable prices. The eatery has since been handed down to Tony Jr., and it's well-known for reasons other than the food. In 1972, actor Burt Reynolds was invited to the restaurant and kindly asked for an autograph. With little around to sign, Reynolds grabbed a hot dog bun and put his John Hancock directly on it. Thus was born the tradition of famous patrons autographing a bun when they visited the restaurant. When Toledo native actor Jamie Farr worked Tony Packo's into the script on the television show M*A*S*H, the number of customers and celebrities began to increase. To Packo's delight, in 1976, Jimmy Carter was one of the first politicians to sign a hot dog bun, penning "next president" after his name.

In the time since Jimmy Carter's signature, Tony Packo's restaurant has been visited by musicians, actors, comedians, and other celebrities, many of whom have contributed to the wall of autographed hot dog buns. To date, the number of buns signed by these VIPs is in the thousands. That's a lot of buns. Sadly, as novel as Burt Reynolds' original idea was, the shelf-life of a hot dog bun is limited, and because the buns began to disintegrate, Packo had the idea to have faux rubber and foam buns made for the express purpose of autographs. This may work out best for other reasons: Packo's doesn't only serve hot dogs. The menu offers pierogies, sandwiches, and signature Hungarian dishes like chicken paprikas over dumplings. And, of course, there's also Tony Packo's Hot Dog Chili Sauce for sale — which is the absolute best canned chili if you ask us.

The draw is still the dogs though, and today the restaurant has five locations throughout the Toledo area. While Jimmy Carter may have been one the first politicians to sign a bun at the original location, others followed, including Walter Mondale, Gerald Ford, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. Today, luminaries pick up a pen, and maybe a pierogi, to sign the foam-and-rubber buns. But for the O.G. celebrity patrons like Reynolds, repeat visits to Packo's have included volunteering to re-sign the faux buns for preservation purposes. One of the only real hot dog buns that still exists — framed and hanging in the original Tony Packo's — is Jimmy Carter's, and it's enjoying the same longevity as the former president himself.