Mobile hot dog eatery to expand to Battlefield Mall

A hot dog food truck is on the verge of adding its first brick-and-mortar shop at the Battlefield Mall.

Doggy Style Food Truck LLC co-owner Jeremy Mathis said the eatery is targeting Oct. 3 for its debut in the mall. It’ll fill space outside JCPenney that formerly was occupied by Dairy Queen, which shuttered.

“With our following and our concept, I think we’ll do great,” he said.

The venture launched in April 2021 and features a menu of over 20 hot dogs, most of which feature unique toppings, such as pulled pork, mac and cheese, Buffalo chicken dip and crab meat. All its hot dogs are named after dog breeds.

Mathis said the mall will give the business a way to keep selling consistently during the winter months and provide a spot where customers won’t have to track down the food trucks in different cities.

“Since we were going to be closed from November to March, we needed something to do,” he said. “Let’s look into the mall.”

Mathis said he and wife Tambera signed a three-year lease for an undisclosed rate with mall owner Simon Property Group Inc. Startup costs will be roughly $3,000, he added, as the mall already has most of the equipment the eatery needs.

The menu for the mall restaurant will add breakfast items served all day, such as biscuits and gravy with bacon crumbles and a biscuit sandwich including pulled pork, jalapenos, eggs and cheese.

The mall location is the second addition this year for Doggy Style. The company added a second food truck in May after scrapping a plan to launch an Italian beef concept, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting.

“We’re just going to park them in the wintertime and then we’ll pick it back up in March,” he said of the plan for the food trucks.