NASCAR MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
The Famous Martinsville Speedway Hot Dog is a fan favorite and long standing tradition that dates back to 1947. More than 50,000 hot dogs are sold over one weekend alone. This iconic dog includes our Southern Style Red Hot Dog and as well as the Jesse Jones Chili.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE FAIR
Jesse Jones is has played a vital part in North Carolina's state fair for over 50 years. Our famous foot long hot dogs are something customers look forward to every year.
OUR STORY
Major Jesse Jones, born in 1881 in Dry Fork, Virginia, came from a farming family and became a businessman at a young age. After retiring from his country store, he began raising pigs as a hobby. Faced with more pigs than his family could consume, he created a business selling fresh “whole hog” sausage year-round, something city residents could usually only enjoy during traditional farm hog-slaughter seasons.
Working with his wife, Annie, Jones initially made and packaged sausage in their kitchen and sold it through his milk delivery route. The product became so popular that local stores demanded it, leading to the construction of the first sausage plant near Danville, Virginia. Jones attributed the sausage’s distinctive flavor to using the entire hog, including the ham.
After World War II, he expanded into hot dogs and bologna, which also became successful. In 1947, his sons brought the business to North Carolina, opening a processing plant near Garner. Unlike their father, they aggressively advertised through radio, television, newspapers, and public events, helping the business grow rapidly.
In the 1950s, the family renamed the company from Jones Sausage to Jesse Jones, honoring the founder. Before his death in 1956, Jesse Jones approved the change and left his sons with a guiding principle: “Nothing but the best will ever bear my name.”
The next generation maintained the company’s focus on quality, leading to continued growth. In the mid-1960s, the family sold the business to General Mills, which expanded operations and integrated the plant into its meat-snack business, producing brands such as Slim Jim and Penrose. Ownership changed several times over the following decades as the company grew. In 1997, the Jesse Jones business was sold to its current owners White Packing Company.