Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Gaines.
Hi Jason, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I saw a hot dog cart inside an area Home Depot. So in 2005 I used a cash advance from my discover card to buy a hot dog cart. I knew nothing about the hot dog business. Absolutely nothing. I researched how to get a hot dog cart inside the Home Depot and just took someone else’s idea and made it my own. I learned and grew from experience and customer feed back. I didn’t even know what a Chicago style dog was. Over the next ( years I expanded into 5 area locations then in 2017 I opened up a brick n mortar restaurant.
Things were great, then COVID came. During Covid Home Depot closed all my locations but the restaurant flourished. We did a great takeout business, our customers were supporting us big time. During the “shut down” I reopened our dining room, was I supposed to, no but I had enough of the bullshit and reopened anyway. We were packed. It was the years since Covid that things changed. About 2022 you could see a change in people’s habits, how they spend, where they go. Delivery platforms such as DoorDash and Uber Eats really took off and people just became lazy. Trying to hire good employees was impossible. Seems during Covid people became entitled, lazy and stupid. Yes, I used those words because it’s so true. Couldn’t find anyone to work much less one how to use a can opener or sweep a floor, a 4 hour shift was too long. Making hot dogs at a hot dog cart was too hard. So I closed the Home Depot locations due to lack of quality staff. Then the same thing was happening at the restaurant. No help, no good help. So my wife quit her job as a nurse and came to help out at the restaurant full time. Major pay cut for her and us as a family.
Working 80-90 hours a week was nothing for me but with no help my wife was forced into the same amount of hours. The restaurant started to struggle in 2024. Everything finally caught up to us, the aftermath of Covid and the changing of people’s habits changed everything. 2025 I reopened my location in the Brentwood Home Depot, the restaurant hours were cut back to 4 days a week due to lack of quality staff. In early 2024 a good friend of mine from Texas gave me a food trailer, after some cleaning and new equipment we started our food truck business. The food truck had been amazing, it’s allowed us to adapt to the “new” age of the food business. With almost no overhead our food trailer allows us to go to the people, private events, private businesses allowing us to set up in different parts of the city. With the new hours at the restaurant, the one Home Depot location and now our food truck business we’re back in the game. We have limited but quality staff. Wish we could find a few more people that had a brain but that’s hard to do. I know that’s a harsh statement but it’s true. Everyone is wanting 30.00 an hour just to show up, 40,00 an hour to actually do some work. I wish we could be open 7 days a week and go back to my original 5 Home Depot locations and provide lots of jobs for people but times have changed and we’re trying to adapt. Who knows next year we might have 3 food trucks and no restaurant.
I love my job, I love our customers and hope we’re around for a long time.
PS: I gave you an interview with real feelings. No sugarcoating to make me look good. This was straight from the heart. Use what you want to use.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We’re family owned specializing in hot dogs and great customer service.
Our hot dogs are custom made only for my company. They are 100% black angus beef and we do everything cooked to order. We pride ourselves in our service and cleanliness.
We’ve been in business for over 20 years. My wife and 2 daughters work in the business.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I didn’t go to school for business, I learned as I went along. I asked questions and listened to people with experience and success and failures. Listening to the failures sometimes was better advice than the successful ones.
I kept my ears open and never took no for an answer when I was shot down when wanting something.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Dirtydogzhotdogs.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dirtydogz_ofallon_/
- Facebook: Dirty Dogz ofallon
