HAMPTON BEACH -- "Now that's a hot dog!" exclaimed the first customer at Bucky's Weenie Wagon. The rest is hot-dog history in the making, as a new business — serving wieners smothered with a variety of specialty toppings — is launched this summer at Hampton Beach.

"People are reading our menu out loud, giggling as they share it with others," says Bucky's owner Bob Mannino, who opened his beachfront take-out restaurant in mid-June. "Everyone loves our weenie names."

Featured are two kinds of Beanie Weenies (chili or baked beans), Steamie Weenie (steamed sauerkraut), and Creamie Weenie (cheddar cheese). For the fun-loving and adventuresome, there is the Greenie Weenie (guacamole and shredded lettuce), Buckini Weenie (tangy Bucky sauce), Meanie Weenie (hot Bucky sauce and pepper jack cheese), Screamie Weenie (hot peppers), Dreamie Weenie (you create), and Extremie Weenie (doused with unlimited specialty toppings). Standard condiments also are available.

Located at 267 Ocean Boulevard (near the Surf Hotel), Bucky's Weenie Wagon is open daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and even later for special beachfront events.

Who is Bucky? "I named the business after my 1926 truck nicknamed 'Bucky,' which once was a meat wagon in Boston," says Mannino. He plans to roll out this charming mascot — which starts with a crank and has a top speed of 25 mph — for special events at Hampton Beach, including the restaurant's Grand Opening, scheduled the weekend of July 9-10.

Bucky's also features a vintage postcard display of Hampton Beach from the 1900s to the 1950s.

"Our old-fashioned décor is designed to showcase the all-time favorites we serve — Coca-Cola in glass bottles, Squamscot soda handcrafted in New Hampshire since 1863, and natural-casing wieners made by a sausage maker since 1914," said Mannino. "Hot-dog lovers won't find a better place anywhere."