Hot dog franchise Dog Haus has signed area development agreements with a pair of first-time franchisees to open a total of six locations, three each, in Alabama and Texas.
Dog Haus’ brick-and mortar locations, which typically range from 2,000 to 3,000 square feet with seating for 60 to 80 patrons inside, feature spacious patios and big garage doors.
The husband-and-wife franchisee team of Bhawesh and Shivani Malhotra will open three Dog Haus locations in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in the next three years. The daughter-father team of Erin Ledoux and Greg Strasburger will open three locations in and around Waco, Texas, in the next three years.
Dog Haus already has a big presence in Texas, with locations in San Antonio, Houston, Dallas and Austin, while Alabama represents a new market for the brand, which is focused on growing in the Southeast.
After a long career in the auto industry, Bhawesh Malhotra is on the executive team of a growing modular building company while his wife, Shivani, has worked different roles in the restaurant industry.
“We have been wanting to build something of our own for some time and Dog Haus was the best opportunity to do that,” said Bhawesh Malhotra, an immigrant of Canada by way of India.
Ledoux is a certified public account at a local accounting firm in Texas while her father owns and operates a manufacturing company in Temple, Texas, that sells supplies primarily to agricultural and industrial corporations. Strasberg will focus on the scope of the Dog Haus area development agreement and the other components of the business, while his daughter will lead the company’s marketing and business development efforts.
Ledoux’s husband, Matt—who managed restaurants in Lake Charles, Louisiana—will oversee the day-to-day operations of their Dog Haus restaurants.
“I’ve always enjoyed my work in the food and beverage industry, and certainly have a love for sharing it,” Matt Ledoux said. “I love running a restaurant because it allows me to be involved in the community and I love being able to bring joy to people.”
Dog Haus currently has 54 brick-and-mortar locations open across the U.S. after opening eight restaurants so far in 2023, with another 12 locations scheduled to open by the end of the year. Dog Haus’s national footprint rises to over 90 locations when including the brand’s presence at Live Nation concert venues and ghost kitchens, said Erik Hartung, vice president of franchising.
“The Southeast is sort of a white whale for us to a certain extent because we feel our food fits perfectly there, providing a fun atmosphere with an orientation towards sports, with lots of TVs and craft beers,” Hartung said.
André co-founded Dog Haus in April 2010 with the mission of elevating stadium food classics into culinary masterworks.
Dog Haus was founded by longtime friends Hagop Giragossian, Quasim Riaz and André Vener in Pasadena, California, in 2010. The franchise specializes in gourmet-style hot dogs and sausages that are free of nitrates as well as black angus meat and chicken that are humanely raised with no hormones and no antibiotics added, all served on grilled King’s Hawaiian rolls.
It has also developed a line of in-house virtual restaurant concepts under the umbrella of Absolute Brands—and has found success rolling those out to its franchised and corporate locations.
The brand has also made a name for itself in the growing plant-based protein category, thanks to partnerships formed with Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat. In 2021, Dog Haus collaborated with Impossible Foods to launch The Impossible Shop, the plant-based leader’s first-ever delivery-only concept.
Dog Haus’ brick-and mortar locations, which typically range from 2,000 to 3,000 square feet with seating for 60 to 80 patrons inside, feature spacious patios and big garage doors. Its bars, which have up to 24 local craft beers on tap, also serve signature cocktails created by celebrity mixologist Phil Wills from the reality TV show Bar Rescue.
“Dog Haus is pretty much comfort food, so it really fits in every market in the country,” Hartung said. “We are tracking to have over 100 locations by the end of 2025. We want become a household name and have everyone look at us as the gold standard in hot dogs and a fun local gathering spot.”
