07/03/2026
The famous Sweeny half smoke will be served at the famous H M SWEENY’S cookout July 7th 2026, 10 AM to 2 PM
The history of the H. M. Sweeny "Half Smoke"
The first time I saw an ocean or a beach it was on an ocean liner in the Atlantic Ocean. After 10 terrible days without hardly any food due to seasickness and my first bus ride from New York City, on April 21st, 1962,I arrived in Washington, D.C.
It was a very hard time for me to adjust. It took me a long time to recover from the boat ride, trying to fit into a new world with a different life style and not knowing a word of English made life more difficult.
My two older brothers introduced me to something like a sausage that my mother used to make. I was very disappointed with the way it tasted. They called it "hot dog" and when they tried to translate the words, I was thinking that I might have eaten a dog. They suggested that I might want to put this red sauce on it. They tried to
teach me its name. I had trouble pronouncing it, so they broke it up in two words " catch up". I used the dictionary to translate the two words, and then I realized that they called the sauce "catch up" to improve the dog taste.
As years went by, I got used to my new life in Washington, D.C. I learned the English language, I also learned the science of climate conditioning by the use of heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration. I got interested in the business end of the trade, and applied for a job with the Henry M. Sweeny Co. After two times begging for a job, Mr Sweeny did not give me an opportunity to work for him. I took it very personally, and 10 years later, on the anniversary of that event, I bought him out.
When I took over the Company I discovered that the Company's birthday was on April 21st,
the same day that I arrived in Washington, D.C.
So, to commemorate that day, on or about April 21st every year, the Company sponsors a great Trade Show and picnic for our customers and our vendors. I refused to serve "hot dogs" at any of our events, most especially at the Sweeny great event!
Years ago, my Father in Law who was the owner of the historic carryout the "Cadillac Carryout" in Washington, D.C. introduced me to a unique food that he called "half smoke". This was made by a local meat company called "Briggs Meats". This was a plump, gelatinous frank with a circumference nearly twice that of a hot dog. It looked similar to a hot dog, but was larger, spicier, and with more coarsely-ground meat, more like sausage, half-pork and half-beef, smoked, and served with herbs, onion, and chili sauce.
I suggested to my Senior Vice President that we should serve half smokes at our Trade Show / Picnic. He is not a native Washingtonian, and he wanted to know what a half smoke was. He said he never heard of it! So we started inquiring. And it turned out that this delicious food was native to the Washington, D.C. area. Since the Cadillac Carryout and the local meat company were no longer in business
this delicacy was rare.
We started researching and we found out that the first half-smoke was first sold by a downtown D.C. vendor cart at the corner of 5th and F Streets NW. Mr Steve was able to find an unknown meat company outside the Washington, D.C. area that has the rights to the recipe and the Sweeny half smoke was born.
When the Sweeny grills are going, the long food lines do not stop. Customers and manufacturers are anxious for that great Sweeny half smoke.
