Sabrett wiener CEO Gregory Papalexis dies

Gregory Papalexis, whose Sabrett hot dogs have become a part of the New York City experience, has died. He was 86.

Papalexis was president, chief executive and chairman of Englewood-based Marathon Enterprises, a supplier of hot dogs, buns, onion sauce and other products, and the owner of the Sabrett trademark.

He died Friday in Rockleigh, N.J., according to the Barrett Funeral Home in Tenafly, N.J.

Sabrett hot dogs are sold nationwide. On the streets of New York, they are sold from stainless-steel pushcarts with instantly recognizable blue-and-yellow umbrellas. Marathon also supplies franks to Papaya King and Gray's Papaya restaurants, and sells more than 35 million pounds of hot dogs a year.

His son-in-law, Mark Rosen, Marathon Enterprises' vice president of sales, told The Bergen Record that Papalexis was "the single biggest hot dog lover in the world." And Papalexis, who retired two years ago, ate Sabrett hot dogs four or five days a week, relatives said. Mark Rosen said franks-and-beans casserole was part of the Papalexis family's Christmas table each year.

The son of a baker, Papalexis grew up next door to a hot dog factory in upper Manhattan. With a $2,500 G.I. loan, Papalexis bought his father's bakery and sold rolls to clients throughout New York City, making deliveries in a Cadillac because it had the biggest trunk he could find.

He soon began selling hot dogs as well, manufacturing a pushcart brand called House O' Weenies. He formed Marathon Enterprises in 1964 and acquired competitors, including Sabrett Food Products in 1989.