The fast-casual sector is expanding fast but Dog Haus appears to have found a niche segment in this dining area and is making the most of it. Kerstin Kühn finds out more about the hot dog specialist.
Fast-casual dining is one of the most rapidly developing segments of the eating-out sector in the US, with ever-new concepts hitting the market. But among the plethora of fast-casual operators, Southern California-based Dog Haus is carving out yet another niche with its rapidly expanding hot dog and sausage concept, which it calls “craft casual”.
Founded in Pasadena, in Los Angeles County, by partners Hagop Giragossian, Quasim Riaz and André Vener, Dog Haus is quickly growing through a franchise programme, with 125 restaurants sold.
“We [the three partners] had worked in the industry and one day we got together. I wanted to start a hot dog food truck and the others had been talking about opening a hot dog restaurant so we decided to team up,” explains Vener.
“We thought that with Dog Haus we could go after a niche. Fast-casual was about to blow up but even though there were lots of burger and pizza chains, there was nobody doing sausages, so we knew our idea would be ahead of the curve.”
Dog Haus specialises in 100% all-beef skinless hot dogs, sausages and black Angus burgers, which bring together unusual ingredients that go far beyond traditional flavours. All served on grilled King’s Hawaiian rolls, sweet in taste and fluffy in texture, they combine the exotic with the savoury and sweet. “Quality is our first priority; our food may not be healthy but it’s clean,” insists Vener. “We want the best ingredients possible and cook them perfectly. We don’t serve our food in three minutes like so many fast-casual operators out there; everything is cooked to order and it’s more like eight to 10 minutes from order to delivery.”
The sausage line was developed by celebrity chef Adam Gertler, and last year, Dog Haus brought on board Michael Brown as its culinary director, who previously ran the kitchens for Google, Nike and Wolfgang Puck Worldwide.
The top-selling item on the Dog Haus menu is the Sooo Cali Dog topped with wild rocket, spicy basil aioli, crispy onions, avocado and tomato. Other items include the Tae Kwon Dog with a bulgogi glaze, kimchi, fried egg and Korean chilli powder; as well as the Downtown Dog, a smoked bacon wrapped dog with caramelised onions, bell peppers, mayo, mustard and ketchup; and the Little Leaguer with Haus chilli, fritos, shredded cheddar and diced onions. Among the sausages, there’s the Another Night in Bangkok sausage, a spicy Thai red curry wurst with peanut sauce, Asian slaw and crushed peanuts; or the Pig and the Fig, an Emmental cheese stuffed sausage with fig and onion relish, wild rocket, wholegrain mustard and sliced almonds.
Choice to franchise
Burgers meanwhile include traditional items like a cheeseburger as well as more gourmet creations such as the Freiburger with white American cheese, fried egg, slaw, fries and mayo; or the Mötley Bleu 2.0 with soy-racha onions, bleu sriracha, white American cheese, bacon, lettuce and tomato. Then there are the sliders, mini versions of a hot dog, corn dog or hamburger; as well as a range of sides including fries, tater tots (small croquettes), chilli and coleslaw. And for diners who don’t like the more unusual menu offerings, there is the option to create your own, with a range of about 50 toppings and sausages including chicken sausages or vegetarian alternatives. Drinks include shakes and malts, along with craft beers and kegged wine.
Hot dogs are priced $5.99 (£3.78) and burgers $6.99 (£4.41) and a combo meal, including a side and a drink, sells for just under $10 (£6.31). “The average ticket per customer is $15.50 (£9.78),” says Vener. “That’s including a beer and a slider. Most of our customers order a slider with their meal.”
Sites are about 2,200sq ft in size and interiors bring together industrial materials such as reclaimed wood, sheet metal, concrete floors and large communal tables.
Dog Haus launched in 2010, with its first restaurant opening in Pasadena. Two further sites followed quickly but then the three partners decided that instead of continuing to grow through opening company-owned outlets, the best way for the brand to expand would be through franchising. “Our initial success was so great that we realised this could become something really big,” says Vener. “We were faced with the decision of whether to go down the same lines as In-N-Out Burger and remain company-owned or whether to take the franchising route.”
International expansion
Although the group initially had concerns about losing control of the brand with franchising, after researching their options, the partners concluded that they could actually better maintain control working with local partners, as opposed to taking on a financial investor. “From the start we never had any investors or banks involved in the business and we felt that the only way to grow the company in the direction that we believe in without taking on a loan but still partnering with people would be through franchising and finding the right franchisees,” Vener adds.
Seven franchised units have opened for a total of 10 Dog Haus locations, all in Southern California. Another 75 are in development, including sites in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Texas and Utah. “By the end of this year, we will have 25 restaurants in operation and by the end of next year, we will have 75. In 2016, we are looking at opening a restaurant a week,” Vener says, adding that average sales per store are about $1.4m a year.
Looking ahead, Vener says Dog Haus’s growth plans are ambitious. “In the next five years, we’re planning between 400 and 500 sites,” he says. “International expansion is definitely something we’re looking at and we’re thinking of setting foot out of the country in 2017. We’ve been in talks with people in the Middle East, Canada and Germany. We’re open to anything but it has to be right. We’ve had a lot of offers, but we tend to say ‘no’ more than we say ‘yes’.”
