Owners selling Skeeter’s in Wytheville

The oldest restaurant in Wytheville, Virginia, Skeeter’s World Famous Hot Dogs, is on the market for sale. The iconic, retro Wytheville Hot Dog Stand is a favorite of locals and travelers from around the world attracting millions of customers over the past 94 years. Generations of families have sat on the spinning stools at the vintage lunch counter, sipped a Baby Coke, and enjoyed hot dogs served on plain white napkins with…mustard, onions, chili, cheese, slaw…any combination, any way you like ‘em!!

Originally known as the E.N. Umberger Store dating back to 1925, the hot dog stand has had only three owners.  Bill and Farron Smith have owned the well-known Skeeter’s Eatery since 1989. The Smiths have kept the Skeeter’s legacy alive for the past thirty years and want to make sure this treasured establishment is in the right hands to continue for generations to come.  The Smiths are only the second owners of Skeeter’s outside the Umberger family since the business began.

Skeeter’s was established in 1925 by Mr. E.N. Umberger and his wife, Elizabeth, on Main Street in Wytheville moving to its current location at 165 E. Main Street in the 1940’s. According to the Umberger family, the name “Skeeter’s” came from the nickname given to Mr. Umberger’s son, E.N., Jr. by his mother. Over the years when Skeeter ran the store, the hot dogs became known as “Skeeterdogs” and the store became affectionately known as “Skeeter’s.” 

Skeeter’s offers a taste of nostalgia.  What makes a Skeeterdog so tasty is soft steamed buns, slow cooked hotdogs, and long simmered chili. Skeeter’s World Famous Hot Dogs made the list of Top 64 Hotdogs in America in the Rachel Ray magazine Every Day.

Skeeter’s World Famous Hot Dogs is located in the historic Bolling Building which dates to the year 1840 and is an important nationally recognized historic site. The bedroom directly above Skeeter’s is the birthplace of Edith Bolling Wilson, wife of President Woodrow Wilson. Edith was the seventh of the eleven Bolling children and the family occupied the entire second floor of the building. The First Lady Edith Bolling Wilson Birthplace Museum is located beside Skeeter’s and draws thousands of visitors to the museum every year.