Today we’d like to introduce you to Oh Peou, Bop Huynh, and Kevin Liu.
Oh, Bop, and Kevin, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
When you think of hotdogs, you really only consider the traditional, classic dog topped with ketchup, mustard, or relish. During our visit to LA last year, we stumbled upon an interesting concept—hotdogs with an Asian twist. The idea of taking staple comfort food and fusing it with Asian (or any ethnic) flavors isn’t new.
Burgers and tacos have both been taken far beyond its traditional roots, pulling inspirations from all across East Asia, so we thought, “why not hotdogs in Texas?” On March 2017, we began developing our own recipe that brings out the best Asian flavors while tailoring it particularly to the city of Houston and what the people generally like. We want our concept to be a direct reflection of the diversity and love of the people, as well be a part of the ever so innovative and unique culinary scene.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
To be honest, its been anything but smooth. The co-founders have restaurant serving experience, but no real kitchen experience. In the beginning, our initial taste tests made us feel that maybe we’re not cut out for the industry. People were not ecstatic about our food, to say the least.
Our morale even got to the point where we thought we could just sell classic hot dogs at convenience stores. We then realized we had to set small goals, day to day. In the early stages, with hours on hours of research and development, we finally made something palatable to our taste testers. Many months of this later, we’re confident that our menu can bring a lot of attention, but there will always be room for improvement. Apart from the aspect of the food itself, keep in mind we’re all young college students.
The restaurant industry is very well established, and we’re embarking this steep learning curve to become the best management and mentor to others that we can. Even the small things like getting paperwork done properly and pulling the big food trailer have been troublesome. Ever since the beginning, we never saw any of this as real “work” that’s stressful or tiring. We’re pursuing our dreams and we know that everything will be worth it in the end.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
The team members are:
Oh Peou Principal Cofounder – Business/Marketing Director
Bop Huynh Cofounder – Culinary Research and Development
Kevin Liu Cofounder – Operations Director
Kevin Nguyen – General Manager
About the company/specialization/known for/sets us apart from others Spicy Dog is an Asian-inspired food truck that takes staple American items and transforms them into exciting gourmet dishes. You can try our delicious foods at our flagship location (coming soon to Montrose area in February 2018), corporate/event catering, as well as a multitude of popups all throughout Houston.
Spicy dog aims to solve numerous problems in the restaurant industry by not only making high quality yet affordable foods, but also to maintain high retention in the workspace by keeping employees happy, maintain high engagement in marketing by being easily accessible and widespread, and maintain high demand year round. Our vision involves building a culture that reshapes the industry in the way that a menu is created and how employees are treated.
What were you like growing up?
I was in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and moved to the Philadelphia in 2003 when I was 8 years old. I grew up in Philadelphia and moved to Houston in 2014. I wasn’t shy. I was a very curious kid growing up. I asked a lot of question and like to observe the world. I picked up home cooking from my mom when I was in 6th grade. That’s where my understanding of food began to develop.
When I was younger, I enjoyed spending time cooking or helping my mom cook vs. fixing things around the house with my dad. I went to Central High School, a magnet school in Philadelphia. The school was filled with a smart intelligent individual that wanted to change and impact the world in many ways. Around the age of 16, my parents decided to start their own a business, a smoothie truck. This was around the 2008/2009 recession. My dad was a factory machine operator and he lost a lot of overtime hours.
My mom didn’t work before then, so the family financial situation was pretty tight. My mom didn’t want the family to continue to live with ends barely meeting, and made the decision to dive into the food truck business. My parents spoke broken English. My mom spoke less than my dad. Somehow, they were able to find a truck, modify the truck to fit their needs, and got all the licenses to operate within one year. I got to help my parents here and there during this time. Sometimes my mom took me with her to municipal buildings downtown Philadelphia to help her translate.
Once the food truck started operating, my family was hit with a few more failures due to location. The family’s smoothie truck was barely breaking 100 dollars a day. My mom came home and cried every day. Toward the end of the summer that year, my parents didn’t give up. They decided to put their smoothie truck in area North West of Philadelphia, and the business finally started to blossom.
Interest wise, I enjoy eating food, cooking food, traveling, learning about new things, and helping people grow and develop. I started Spicy Dog in hope that I can improve the way food establishments treat their employees. There are quite a few big names that are already spear pointing this movement such as Chick-Fil-A, Starbucks, Boba Guys, and more. My main interest isn’t to be known in the culinary industry as a chef or an entrepreneur with the cool food concept but rather as a great boss that is persevering to create the best workplace for his employees.
Pricing:
- Bop Dog $6
- Crazy Dog $6
- Dogzilla $6
- Philly Cheese Dog $8
- Spicy Truffle Fries $9
- Korean BBQ Poutine Fries $7
- Bop Balls $7
Contact Info:
- Address: 3224 Yoakum Blvd, Houston, TX 77006
- Website: https://www.spicydogngo.com
- Phone: 2159908114
- Email: spicydogngo@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/spicydoghtx/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spicydoghtx/
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdivEaC-M_jtHIp4lKJS1Lg
Image Credit:
Chelsea Pham, Reverberate Marketing Agency
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
Cindy Eppolito
January 24, 2018 at 6:29 pm
I had the pleasure of working with these young men at our Pearland Small Business Saturday shows. I must say I was a bit hesitant of a hot dog with an Asian flair, but they graciously made me two dogs (different flavors), and my tiny self ate both of them that day (this is saying a lot for me, as usually I am just simply not an eater). Even though our show was not terribly busy and they were not able to get a lot of foot traffic, they showed up, set up, and were happy to get the chance to show their stuff. I admire their desire to succeed as well as the desire to please their customers and their passion for what they love.