Today we’d like to introduce you to Dog Town.
Hi Dog, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Dog Town started a little over a year ago from a pretty simple idea: we wanted to work for ourselves, build something of our own, and have a little fun doing it.
Javier has been in the culinary world for more than 20 years and is a professionally trained chef. He’s one of those people who can look at a handful of ingredients and somehow turn them into something incredible. Food has always been his thing, so starting a food business felt like a natural fit for us.
We started small with a street hot dog cart, which really allowed us to get our feet wet, learn the business, and figure out what people loved. That cart was small but mighty, and it truly built the foundation for Dog Town.
From there, we decided to take a chance and invest in our food trailer. Having a full kitchen gave Javier the ability to get more creative and allowed us to expand beyond hot dogs and sausages into a much more elevated menu, including breakfast, hand-cut fries, sandwiches, grilled cheese, and whatever else he comes up with next.
It’s been a lot of learning as we go, but it’s also been really rewarding to look back at that little hot dog cart and realize how far it has taken us in such a short amount of time. We’re still growing, still figuring things out, and very excited to see where Dog Town goes next.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No road is completely smooth, and we’re definitely two people who understand that there are going to be rough times along the way. That’s actually why we have “No Bad Days” written on our food trailer. In the big scheme of things, there really are no bad days when you wake up on this side of the dirt.
There were plenty of days in the beginning when we would pay a fee, set up our little hot dog cart at a gas station or a pop-up, and have zero customers. There were brutally hot market days when it felt like no one even noticed us. There was something about that small hot dog cart that people sometimes looked right past, and there were definitely moments when we felt small.
But we always knew who we were and what we were capable of. Just because our setup wasn’t the biggest or flashiest didn’t mean the food wasn’t good or that we weren’t going to succeed. We kept showing up, kept working, and kept believing in what we were building.
Looking back, those harder days are a huge part of our story. That little cart taught us resilience, gave us confidence, and made us appreciate where we are now even more. And through all of it, we’ve tried to stick to the same mindset: No Bad Days.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
At the heart of Dog Town, we’re still exactly what our name says—we make a really good hot dog. But we’ve always wanted to take something simple and familiar and make it a little more fun and unexpected.
We specialize in elevated hot dogs and sausages with creative toppings and house-made sauces, but Dog Town has grown into so much more than that. With the food trailer, Javier has been able to really use his culinary background and expand the menu with hand-cut fries, sandwiches, grilled cheese, and a full breakfast menu. We make a lot from scratch, and we’re constantly playing around with new ideas and specials. We don’t take ourselves too seriously, but we absolutely take the food seriously.
What probably sets us apart the most is that there’s a trained chef behind food that, on the surface, seems really simple. Javier brings more than 20 years of culinary experience to a hot dog stand, and we think that’s part of what makes Dog Town special. You can come grab a classic hot dog, or you can try something you probably weren’t expecting to get from a place called Dog Town.
What we’re most proud of, though, is what we’ve built together. This started with the two of us, a tiny cart, and an idea. We’ve created something that feels like us—approachable, a little different, never too fancy, and centered around really good food. Seeing people come back, bring their families and tell their friends about us is probably the best compliment we could get.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
We actually talk about taking risks with our kids pretty often. We tell them that if you’re going to take a risk, you should understand both the reward and the consequence. And if it doesn’t work out, you need to know what you’re going to do next. Take the chance, but always have a plan.
We’ve taken some pretty big risks ourselves. One of the biggest was packing up our life in Boston, Massachusetts, and moving to St. Augustine, Florida. We knew we wanted a new chapter and a fresh start, so we took the chance. Moving somewhere without family nearby or a built-in support system wasn’t easy, especially with young kids, but that’s part of taking a risk—you don’t really know what’s on the other side until you go for it.
Starting Dog Town was another one. We took something that was just an idea, put our own money, time, and energy behind it, and trusted ourselves enough to see where it could go. Then, when we realized we wanted to grow beyond the cart, we took another leap and invested in the food trailer.
For us, taking a risk doesn’t mean being reckless. It means believing in what you’re doing, understanding what could happen if it doesn’t work, and being willing to figure out the next move.
Through all the risks we’ve taken, there’s always been one thing we’ve known for sure: we’ll always have each other. And at the end of the day, that’s really all we need.
Pricing:
- $5 Hot dog – unlimited toppings (although we suggest 3-4 max)
- $5 Hand cut French fries ( brined in vinegar)
- $8 breakfast sandwich ( choice of house made sausage or corned beef, egg and cheese on homemade biscuit)
- $5 Grilled Cheese – add a sauce like bacon mayo YUM
- $7 sausage ( fan favorite is topped with garlic cilantro sauce, dices onion and potato sticks)
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dog_town904/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dogtown904/
