Arbetter’s Hot Dogs, a local legend in its own right, will on Friday November 10 honor a man they consider a local legend by celebrating “Carter Burrus Day” from noon to 6 p.m. Burrus will be there, as will a band from Christopher Columbus Senior High.
E. Carter Burrus attended Christopher Columbus High School, graduating in 1962 and later served as a coach and a teacher there. He’s still an ardent supporter of the school. Burrus got his Bachelor’s Degree from Michigan State University in 1966, Masters Degrees from Long Island University and St. John’s University in the 70’s, and his Doctorate Degree from the University of Miami in 1984. He taught at Miami Dade Community College for many years.
He has been a regular customer at Arbetter’s for decades. Dave Arbetter, the restaurant’s owner and son of the business’s founder, says it’s a pleasure to recognize Burrus in this way.
“Carter Burrus is locally famous, but there’s more than that,” said Arbetter. “He’s a great guy, totally a community guy, and was somewhat of a legend at Christopher Columbus High School. He’s been coming to Arbetter’s since the 1960’s. We thought it was time to honor him. We prefer honoring a local guy to honoring some big shot dude. Carter means everything to us. He’s family. He’s also very modest.”
Arbetter says that people from all walks of life and all income levels are regulars at the popular eatery that opened in 1959.
“We want to honor a guy who puts community first, and that’s Carter,” said Arbetter. “He’s big on South Florida, and he’s a font of knowledge about the Everglades and knows all about the ecology of the ‘River of Grass’.”
Burrus is self-effacing and thinks that others probably deserve the honor more, but he is genuinely pleased.
“It’s very nice—I appreciate it,” said Burrus. “Arbetter’s is the most egalitarian place I’ve even been in my life. You can come in there and be a ditch-digger, a garbage collector, a captain of industry, whatever, they’re all there for the same thing. They stand in line, they talk to each other. Everybody is kind to each other and congenial. It’s just very special and has great ambiance. It’s a landmark, and there aren’t many of those around anymore.”
Arbetter’s is located at 8747 Southwest 40th Street in Miami. For information call 305-207-0555 or CLICK HERE to visit their website.
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