By KARI KRAMER | East Texas Edition

Teresa Warrick-Banks holds a photo of her father Gene Warrick. As a girl, Teresa worked with her father at Pittsburg Hot Links. -- Staff photo by Kramer

May 11, 2006 - For more than 50 years, the people at Pittsburg Hot Links have been packing and dealing in more than just a unique meat product.

Since the Warrick family gained ownership of the restaurant in the late 1940s or early 1950s, and the packing plant was opened in the 1970s, the family has been dealing in customer service and a traditional way of doing things.

Sabin Warrick runs the Pittsburg Hot Links packing plant that connects to the company’s main restaurant location in downtown Pittsburg. The plant is often expanding and now packages more than 50,000 pounds of Pittsburg Hot Links product each day.

According to Teresa Warrick-Banks, Sabin’s sister, much of the time at the plant lately has been spent converting to new U.S. Department of Agriculture regulatory  programs - a costly and time-consuming task.

“Little” Sabin (named for his uncle) and his mother Teresa serve up hot links during the lunch hour. The family processes the hot links at their packing plant, which adjoins the restaurant in Pittsburg. -- Staff photo by Kramer

Teresa said the regulations are necessary, but can be a burden on a small company. Converting to some programs can cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Still, Teresa said, despite the work, the family is up for the challenge. After all, in 50 years, they have survived plenty of change. 

“Over the years we have watched an increase in raw product come in,” Teresa said of the plant operations.

The plant brings in beef, pork, and chicken meat for processing and packing. The meat comes from around the region to be processed at the plant.

“Then we use our recipe to mix it,” explained Teresa.

Once packaged, products are sold to wholesalers from the packing plant, to the public through the restaurant, and are distributed in Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas. The company even has a few wholesalers on the West Coast.

Teresa said lately the company’s brokers have requested more product to sell, something that has prompted additional plant expansion.

“We’re constantly in an expansion process with the meat packing,” she said.

Soon, the plant, which now employs about 40 people, expects to be operating 24 hours a day. The one challenge will be paying the extra money for a USDA inspector to be on-hand during the additional operating hours. Currently, the plant cooks product all day, but can only process the raw product that comes into the plant for eight hours each day while the inspector is on duty. If the inspector stays for more than the alloted time, the company is responsible for the over-time costs. 

Currently, Pittsburg Hot Links products are available at several area retail stores and at restaurants like those located in Paris, Winnsboro, Hughes Springs, and the main location in Pittsburg. Though other locations sell the Pittsburg Hot Links, the central location in Pittsburg is the only location owned and operated by the Warrick family. The other locations are privately owned and sell the company’s products and use their name. Teresa said the company hopes to see more of these branch restaurants open in the future.

Teresa spent much of her life at the Pittsburg restaurant helping her father, the late Gene Warrick, run the place. The established restaurant was  not always so busy back in her father’s day.

“When I was a kid, we’d sit here and there would be no one in here and dad would stay until we made $30,” recalled Teresa. 

Today, $30 is not so hard to come by, thanks to the loyal and repeat customers.

“Generations of children have grown up and still come back for Pittsburg Hot Links,” said Teresa.

Evidence of the restaurant’s history fill the walls at the downtown eatery. There are newspaper clippings, family photos, a written history of the company, and autographed photos from generations of celebrities. Patrons sit on wooden benches, and like her father, Teresa serves their Hot Links and meal on butcher paper, not plates.

The restaurant sells the famous Original Pittsburg Hot Links, and the new “Green” variety. 

The original recipe links are what has gained the restaurant so much recognition throughout the years.

“It’s more like ground meat in a natural casing, so it’s a little softer,” explained Teresa when comparing her hot links to others.

The original hot links are made with beef. The new “Green” variety is made with beef and pork and has a firmer texture. The new variety is only available at the restaurant on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the days the restaurant has chosen to promote their new hot links.

Teresa admitted not everyone likes the hot links the first time they try them, but the links tend to grow on people.

“It’s very unique,” she said of the product. “It’s not the prettiest thing but they’re tasty and they’re different.”

In addition to the hot links, customers can purchase hot sauce, chili made with hot links, and other side dishes the family cooks up.

Repeat customers are evidence that Pittsburg Hot Links has been doing something right for the past 50-or-so years.

“It says that we have a good product and we also have a consistent fan base for Pittsburg Hot Links,” Teresa said.

But, she doesn’t take credit for even a small portion of what her father started years ago. According to Teresa, it was her father that Pittsburg Hot Links customers first became loyal to.

“People became loyal to him over the years,” she said. “He was a good man.”

Teresa and her family have tried to maintain the connection that her father made with his customers. They still use a one-on-one traditional way of advertising. Several times throughout the year, the family loads up and travels to a variety of trade shows and events to promote their products. It’s a way of communicating that Teresa prefers.

“It’s hands-on and you can actually get immediate feedback,” she explained.

In addition, the family and company have a website (www.PittsburgHotLinks.net) that shares the story of the restaurant, the family, and their operations. Customers can also order a variety of the company’s products on the site. It’s one more way the family tries to make sure that anyone who wants Pittsburg Hot Links can get them.

“We are customer service oriented,” said Teresa. “If you want it, we will do our best to get it to you.”

It’s a belief she learned from her father who began shipping hot links several years ago, packed in grease. According to Teresa the extra time to ship hot links (the shipping is often more expensive than the hot links) is worthwhile because customers appreciate the effort.

“We wouldn’t be where we are today without the loyalty of our customers and the people who have walked through our doors and worked with us.”

Teresa said customers have always been loyal to the company’s products, but for more than 50 years, Pittsburg Hot Links has been returning the favor.

More information about the family, the company, and their products can be found at www.PittsburgHotLinks.net.