Hot dog! Dogg Hutt Express is coming to Cape Girardeau

When it comes to fast food, the pizza thing, the burger thing, both of them get old, said Charles Wilson, owner of Dogg Hutt Express hot-dog cart -- but a hot-dog cart, now that is something a little different.

Wilson's new venture will combine the sights and scents of an open-air eatery with all the fixings, he said.

"The main thing is, it's your dog, your way," Wilson said.

He'll use high-quality ingredients, chili, cheese, sauteed onions, coleslaw and sauerkraut among them.

The dogs themselves will be 100 percent beef kielbasa, he said.

Wilson said he'll use Pepperidge Farm top-sliced buns -- "they hold condiments really well."

As owner, Wilson said, he'll have control over the entire process, from ingredients to final product.

"I'm the owner. I've got a chance to make it right," Wilson said.

He'll have nachos too, Wilson said, but no burgers, as that gets into more equipment than he wants to handle, to start with.

"Less is more," Wilson added.

Dogg Hutt Express will be set up starting just after 8 a.m. Saturday at Kmart, 11 S. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau, and Wilson said he's working on getting set up at West Park Mall's main entrance in the near future.

Wilson said he's spent most of the winter getting permits and equipment ready, so he'll be set to go as the weather starts getting nicer and people start venturing out a little more frequently.

"It's already been a lot of work, but I'm liking it," Wilson said, and he expects a lot of work ahead, as he'll be cook, server, cleanup person and marketing, all in one.

But it's a fun atmosphere and one he thinks people will like.

He's put a lot of work into the menu, he said.

"I wanted fair prices, but I also wanted my bases covered," Wilson said. "There's a balance."

Prices will start at just over $5 for a dog, Wilson said.

He has ambitions, he said, and would like to set up in a portable building eventually. But for now, he'll capitalize on the visual appeal and nostalgia factor of a hot-dog cart in front of a shop.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address:

11 S. Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, Mo.