A hot dog eatery made famous on the TV series "M*A*S*H" has been sold after a yearlong family feud over ownership.
Representatives of a private restaurant group in Toledo said Monday they have finalized their $5.5 million purchase of the Tony Packo's chain, whose future had been in doubt since a bank foreclosed on its loans and a court-appointed third party was put in charge.
The new owners said they plan to keep some members of the Packo family on board, including the founder's grandson who faces charges of stealing from the business.
Actor Jamie Farr, a Toledo native, made Tony Packo's famous in the 1970s when he portrayed a U.S. soldier in the Korean War who longed for the eatery's hot dogs.
"If you're ever in Toledo, Ohio, on the Hungarian side of town, Tony Packo's got the greatest Hungarian hot dogs," Jamie Farr's character, Cpl. Max Klinger, said on an episode in 1976.
Packo's was mentioned in six of the 250 episodes of "M*A*S*H" and continues to draw tourists even though the show ended its run three decades ago.
Bob Bennett, the owner of 26 Burger Kings in the Toledo area, won the bidding for the chain last fall. The sale fell through before being revived last month.
The sale includes the recipe for Packo's chili sauce, which is sold in groceries throughout the Midwest, and its autographed hot dog buns, which are displayed on the walls. Celebrity signers include Bing Crosby, Alice Cooper and Bill Cosby.
Trouble began a year ago when descendants of the restaurant's namesake began accusing one another of financial misdeeds and mismanagement.
The company's lender then foreclosed on almost $4 million in loans. A judge put a third party in charge of the operations while the dispute over ownership played out in court.
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