It’s been nearly a century since the Papaya King started serving the unlikely combination of all-beef hot dogs and tropical juices. It became a New York thing. In 1975, Papaya King franchisee Nicholas Gray closed his Upper West Side franchise and re-opened as Gray’s Papaya. It was built on the same menu, but had the added seasoning of Gray’s in-your-face promotion. A dog and a juice at Gray’s Papaya (grayspapaya.nyc) became the way that everyone from struggling folksingers to late-night sanitation workers managed to get a tasty bite and keep going. Gray’s soon eclipsed the original Papaya King, with multiple locations around the city.

Changing economic conditions and pricey real estate have taken their toll on the papaya-hot dog business, closing down the Papaya Kings and some other imitators. Even Gray’s has shrunk back to its original location at 2090 Broadway, just down 72nd Street from the famous Dakota apartment building.

The marketing remains as cheeky as ever. Lettering on the facade reads “When you’re hungry, or broke, or just in a hurry. No Gimmicks! No Bull!” This from the institution that launched the “Recession Special” or two dogs and a juice for $1.95 in 1982.

Prices aren’t quite that low, but Gray’s Papaya still draws a crowd and it’s still open around the clock. When we visited the day after the New York City Marathon, a number of runners with medals around their necks were stopping by to eat. We scored three hot dogs and a papaya juice to split for under $10 before tax. Ours came with mustard and relish, but the real NYC style is with the tomato-based onion sauce. The all-beef dogs were terrific, and we could feel virtuous drinking the papaya juice, which is touted as low in sugar and high in vitamin C.