15 things you probably didn’t know about Dat Dog

Dat Dog owner, Skip Murray, suggested that I work behind the scenes at his Freret Street establishment one day. While I haven’t really been able to put my frying wrist or hot dog building skills to work yet, I did learn a few things during my short stint, including the fact that I am certainly not cut out for the food and beverage industry. In honor of the grand opening of their second location on Magazine Street, here are a few facts about the fast growing establishment that you probably didn’t know:

1. Owner, Skip Murray, started selling hot dogs at a softball tournament in London, during “American Baseball Day.” After being volunteered to organize the event, he had to improvise using sausages from Germany and hot dog buns from EuroDisney. Naturally, he sold beer as well.
2. Murray then became known as the “Hot Dog Guy “ of the United Kingdom for 12 years, before returning to New Orleans.
3. After a 27-year stint in the U.K., Skip returned to New Orleans and opened Dat Dog with childhood friends, in a “shed” on Freret Street, in February 2011.
4. They sold 300 hot dogs within the first day.
5. Yelp reviews brought in customers on the second day.
6. Tourists started including the Dat Dog shed into their travel itinerary, after Dat Dog was mentioned in a Wall Street Journal article that May.
7. Once, a bridge group tried to make a reservation at the Dat Dog shed.
8. Celebrity patrons include Hilary Swank, Mayor Mitch Landrieu, and Kermit Ruffins.
9. Their unique method of steaming and grilling their buns is the result of an accident, when they were in a desperate rush to defrost frozen sourdough buns.
10. All employees must wear Hawaiian shirts and bandanas.
11. Dat Dog moved from their shed into a larger location at 5030 Freret Street after only 6 months.
12. Floats can be made with Barq’s root beer or Mexican coke.
13. Dat Dog on Magazine has a full bar, with 15 local and craft beers on tap and over 50 types of bottled beer.
14. Magazine Street’s house made Bloody Mary is made using Cathead vodka, from Mississippi. For every bottle of Cathead that is bought in Louisiana, $1.00 is donated to the New Orleans Musicians Assistance Foundation (NOMAF). In turn, 50 cents from each Bloody Mary sold at Dat Dog goes back to the foundation as well.
15. The grand opening for Dat Dog’s newest location is Wednesday, April 10 from 5 – 6:30 P.M. at 3336 Magazine Street, where they will be providing select draft beers and Dat Dog samples on the house.