First founded in Pasadena in 2012, Dog Haus currently has 21 locations across five states and recently announced that it plans to expand to a whopping 500 restaurants across the country. Expect the fast-casual company to blanket San Diego; it intends to open 10 outposts here over the next five years.
Its first local entry opens today, bringing a signature menu of gourmet hot dogs, sausages, and burgers to the corner of 9th and Broadway just down the block from Hodad’s East Village outpost. At 4,100-square-feet, it’s the largest version of the Dog Haus Biergarten concept so far; there’s a 30-tap craft beer bar, 10 TVs, seating for 150 and a spacious outdoor patio.
Its menu spans from Haus Dogs, all beef skinless dogs including the bacon-wrapped Downtown Dog topped with caramelized onions and pickled peppers to Haus Sausages ranging from The Fonz, a spicy Italian sausage topped with pastrami and melted mozzarella to the Pig Lebowski, a Polish kielbasa topped with fries, slaw and barbecue sauce; the hand crafted sausage program is overseen by celeb chef and "wurst-macher" Adam Gertler. The eatery also features burgers, made with hormone and antibiotic-free beef; The Hangover tops a patty with bacon, chili, cheese, and a fried egg. All hot dogs, sausages and burgers are served on grilled Hawaiian bread. There are also sides, including tater tots and chili cheese fries, plus desserts featuring soft serve Los Angeles landmark Fosselman’s Ice Cream.
Open from 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday, Dog Haus is celebrating its opening day today by offering a free Haus Dog to everyone that donates $3 to the Monarch School, a local non-profit serving homeless youth, and to all police, firefighters, EMTs and military in uniform. Additionally, the eatery will be donating 10% of sales from Saturday, October 22 through Saturday, October 29 to the San Diego Fire Rescue Foundation.
