Lee Pulaski lpulaski@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader Photo by Lee Pulaski Amber Arneson and Jeremy Weed are introducing Shawano to Chicago-style hot dogs with the new J Doggs food stand. The couple have seen steady traffic since opening for the season in May.
J Doggs is more than just a place where you can order a Chicago-style hot dog, at least for Jeremy Weed and Amber Arneson.
Arneson always wanted to own and operate a restaurant, and when she met Weed, her boyfriend, it was an opportunity to bring culinary skills and entrepreneurship together.
“I was going to do this a couple of years ago,” Arneson said. “I was going to name it Corner Doggs and bring Chicago-style dogs and other stuff to Shawano.”
The timing wasn’t right for Corner Doggs, though. After they met, Arneson told Weed about the Corner Doggs idea, and he was very interested.
“He’s just a very good cook and wished he had his own restaurant,” Arneson said. “He’s bringing in his award-winning chili, and I’m bringing in the Chicago dogs.”
Weed had not heard of Chicago-style hot dogs before meeting Arneson. Originally from Minnesota, he most recently lived in Oconto Falls, where he won a chili contest.
“It was the day before my birthday a few years back, so I entered it, and I got first place,” Weed said. “The next year, it came around on my birthday, and I took second place, and then they stopped doing the festival.”
A former boss had nicknamed Weed “J Dogg,” and as plans for the business fell into place, he suggested it as the name for a particular hot dog. Arneson had other ideas.
“He asked, ‘Can I have my own hot dog with the chili on top and the cheese? I can call it the J Dogg,’” Arneson said. “That’s when I thought, that’s it.”
The hot dog and burger business first arrived on the Shawano scene during the 2016 Shawano County Fair. After another sampling opportunity during the Taste of Shawano earlier this year, J Doggs opened its food wagon at 344 S. Main St. for the season in May.
The food wagon painted red and yellow among modern and historic buildings has attracted plenty of attention, which Arneson attributes to Weed’s skills.
“Him and his cooking — his burgers are amazing. Everything he makes is always really good,” Arneson said.
Locals agree. Dave Bucki, of Shawano, crosses town to J Doggs regularly to enjoy the cuisine.
“I came and gave it a try, and I’ve been coming back once or twice a week ever since,” said Bucki, who usually orders the J Dogs and J Burgers.
Arneson said there are a lot of regular customers, but there are also plenty of new faces coming in, too. J Doggs has a page on Facebook, letting folks know when it’ll be open and any specials that might pop up.
“If you look at Facebook, we get five stars, and people are just really happy with the food,” Arneson said. “We’ve had people come from Chicago to try it, and they tell us we give Chicago a run for their money.”
J Doggs is open four days a week. Arneson and Weed receive supplies once a week from Chicago, and they believe in serving food fresh and unfrozen to make sure it tastes the best. The food wagon provides limited storage.
“If we were open every day, we’d run out of food,” Arneson said.
J Doggs is also open from May to September. Weather tends to be a major factor for the outdoor business, Arneson noted.
Lunch crowds tend to be primarily workers, while evenings and weekends see families coming out to enjoy the J Doggs fare.
“I just enjoy cooking,” Weed said. “When you cook meals for people, and you watch them to see what they do, it’s exciting.”
Arneson said she went with a food wagon to get her feet wet in the business world, but she hopes to someday have a brick-and-mortar restaurant. Once that happens, the food wagon could be used for special events.
“A building would be great in the future, but this is our way to start out,” Arneson said.