Before Corey Austin took his last look at the vibrant green awning hanging outside of What Up Dawg?’s doors, before he used up the last of the beer on tap and before he fried the last hot dog he had left on the gristly grill, he invited all his regulars back for one last supper.

And so, in two’s and three’s, groups of usual customers filed in through glass doors which were now affixed with brown paper — a looming sign of the restaurant’s imminent closure.

They sat at the bar perched on leather-bound stools, which were now lacerated with the kind of wear only four years of drunken college students can leave. They drank beer, reminisced on good times and of course, ate hot dogs.

But mostly, they all tried to ignore the fact that their favorite after-dark hangout was fizzling out of business. They tried, like many recent college graduates do, to cling to the familiar — their old friends, old gathering places, and a collection of fond, booze-soaked memories.

“It’s a place where you kind of dream to work,” Austin said. Austin has worked at What Up Dawg? since 2011 and is now the general manager.

“You want to work with people that you enjoy and when that was the case, it was just hanging out,” he said “Taking care of your friends. If you have a barbecue at your house and you’re manning the grill, its the same thing. We just had a barbecue every day.”

Throughout his last day at What Up Dawg?, Austin did spend his time taking care of his friends. Although many of their favorite entrées couldn’t be made because of the dwindling ingredients — the last scoop of chili was used up the day before, and only one bag of cheese was left in the fridge — that part didn’t really matter.

Because much like Austin, it wasn’t the hot dogs that kept all these people coming back. And while the crookedly hung pictures of panting dogs on the wall were quirky, that wasn’t it either.

When it was all said and done, it was the sense of belonging which reeled devoted customers back in. The sense that despite hectic college life, there were friends willing to share the dark stumble home with each other after a long night out.

And at What Up Dawg?, these friends were never more than a $2 Coney dog away.

Not just another hole-in-the-wall

Spring 2015 graduate Hope Tackbary first came to What Up Dawg? after a night out at the bars, seeking sanctuary and a hot dog. What she found, however, became a routine late-night stop.

“It was just a stop on the way home, but it became a place that we always came to,” she said.

Having just graduated MSU herself, Tackbary said it’s almost as if What Up Dawg? is graduating alongside her. Having become a regular at the bar, she said there had been many nights when it was just herself and all of her closest friends crowding the hot dog joint.

“It’s sad because we’re also leaving,” she said. “It’s an end of an era kind of thing. It’s the end of What Up Dawg?. It was here for the whole time that we were here so its kind of leaving with us.”

Packaging senior Jack Schumacker said he has been making weekly trips to the beer pong tournaments on Thursdays at What Up Dawg? for nearly 2 years, and not being able to swing by on a Thursday night with his team is going to be hard.

Although beer pong was fun for him and his friends, Schumacker said something else kept him coming back week after week.

“It’s the management,” he said. “Between Bill, who used to manage the place, and Corey now, its just good people. I’m gonna miss it.”

International relations senior Marcus Kamal, has been a regular for 3 years, and has even taken his father to eat there during a visit to East Lansing.

“It’s a dirty old hole in the wall that no one really knows about, and in that sense it’s special because it’s yours,” he said. “I’m really gonna miss it here. Obviously I’m upset about it. It’s too bad to see a great place like this go under.”

For Austin, who has come to call his regulars his friends, dealing with their mourning has been one of the most difficult parts.

“It’s hard to not get choked up when I talk about working with some of the people I’ve worked with,” Austin said, holding back emotion. “Because I won’t get to see them anymore. It’s tough. But, that’s how it goes. That’s just what you got to do.”

A hot dog legacy

When What Up Dawg? first opened in 2011, the restaurant set out to use locally-made products and be a laid-back place for a bite to eat.

Using those goals, Austin said What Up Dawg? has succeeded on all accounts.

“I think despite the fact that “The Dawg” isn’t continuing anymore, it was always for the students by the students,” he said. “Sometimes those things aren’t long term, but its about the experiences and the memories you have in between.”

And there are quite a few memories to look back on, Austin said.

“I hope that they remember their friends,” he said. “I hope it gives them context for memories. A lot of times you might not remember everything that was going on in your life at the time but you’ll remember a place and you’ll remember something that happened. And I like to think we facilitated a lot of those fond memories at this place. That’s all you can hope for.”

Working at What Up Dawg? has been a growing experience for Austin, he said.

“I came a boy and I’m leaving a man,” Austin said. “I turned 30 this July. That’s the difference between being a guy and being man. Once you turn 30, you’re always a man after that point. It’s the end of the college lifestyle and hopefully the beginning of stability.”

And while What Up Dawg? certainly has its following, the late-night rush just wasn’t enough to keep the doors open, he said. A business can’t survive on just hot dogs and love.

“It’s hard to make money in the restaurant business,” co-owner Seth Tompkins said. “We’ve had this in the hands of some managers since we’ve opened and honestly it never really made money for us. Just after four years of trying to get it to work we just can’t do it.”

Tompkins said another restaurant is planning on purchasing the space and starting up a new establishment run by local owners.

And after the portrait of “The Dawg” painted on the wall is expunged, Tompkins said he hopes customers have only affectionate memories of the place.

As for Austin, he said he’s not really sure what he will do next — but that’s beside the point. For now, he said he’s still finding comfort in the outpour of condolences on social media.

“I just keep rolling with the punches,” he said. “The adventure begins next week.”