Kyle “Cowboy” Childers, owner of Holmes Hotdogs, stands behind the counter of the longtime Spartanburg restaurant, which he has operated for the past four years. Photo courtesy of www.holmeshotdogs.com
For over 70 years, Holmes Hotdogs has been a staple of the Spartanburg community, serving hotdogs and the famous Holmes family chili.
Originally owned by Walt Holmes and his family, the restaurant’s legacy has been carried on for the past four years by Kyle “Cowboy” Childers — a Boiling Springs native committed to keeping the beloved local hub alive.
Childers says that Holmes Hotdogs has been a part of his life since he first became a regular around the age of 15. “I got to know the owners Rob and Treva Webb very well, and I used to joke that if nobody in their family wanted it, I’d take it over one day.”
He was “halfway joking,” but that when the time came, it was the other half that won out.
“When they were ready to start slowing down and retire, I worked for the restaurant for two years, apprenticing,” he explains. This July marked four years since Childers officially took over Holme's Hotdogs.
“I just always really liked the place,” he says. “I’ve been eating here for so long, and it’s a little part of Spartanburg history. And selfishly, I didn’t want an outsider to come in and ruin it.”
Though he always entertained the idea of owning the restaurant, Childers initially had a very different career path in mind.
“Being a child of the 80’s, I really wanted to work at NASA,” he says. “I went to college at the University of Tennessee, and I actually graduated with a degree in aerospace engineering.”
Life, however, had other plans. “The only problem was, in ‘07, when I graduated, the economy crashed, the Great Recession hit, and then NASA ended the space shuttle program around 2010, and there was no job market at all.”
Despite the curveballs along the way, Childers expresses sincere gratitude for where he has ultimately landed. “I really enjoy what I do,” he says. “You see all these people keep coming back, year after year, and they start bringing their kids. I love how much people like the place. It’s one of those old school gathering spots. You have people who came when they were a child, and now they’re grandparents. I love how much everyone loves it, and how much everybody loves stepping inside.”
He also says that he loves working with “the ladies,” as he affectionately refers to them: Janice, Sabrina, Kacey, Tara, Robin, Patty, Rosie, and Nan, the team keeping Holmes Hotdogs running each day. They’re a close-knit group, and Childers says the restaurant is always filled with talking and laughing. It’s clear that the employees of Holmes Hotdogs genuinely enjoy what they do — even the newest members of the team have been around for four years. Rosie has spent the longest time with the restaurant, having been a part of the team for 19 years — almost two decades.
Holmes Hotdogs is open Monday through Friday from 10am to 3:30pm. They also are open for two Saturdays in the fall, and two Saturdays in the spring, to allow a chance for members of the community who can’t come by on weekdays to enjoy a Holmes hotdog.
“It’s a great little place to work, and it’s a great little place to meet with friends and family for lunch,” says Childers. “It’s a true part of Spartanburg’s history.”
