Interview with Todd Chusid, CEO and Founder of Johnnie's Dog House

Q: Hi, Todd. Please tell us a little about your background and the history of Johnnie's Dog House.

Prior to launching Johnnie's Dog House, I spent over 20 years in strategic consulting, application services, technology solutions, and I managed services to Global 100 companies. My focus was on improving revenue and profit by implementing global marketplace solutions for companies such as Wal-Mart, Dell, Campbell Soup Company, and Verizon Wireless.

During my travels I always made a point of sampling hot dogs in every country and state that I visited and I started to consider myself a connoisseur of sorts. It was hard to come back and report who had the best because every city, every country, and every culture that I encountered had good hot dogs, but it was the discovery of toppings specific to that area that made it a good hot dog.

Q: Is Johnnie's Dog House named after a real person?

Johnnie is a fictitious little boy - an ornery little boy from the 1940's whose sole purpose in life was to create an establishment for his friends with tastes from their hometown or the experience of hot dogs from parts of the world that they may have never traveled. Because he grew up in the 1940's, Johnnie added that nostalgic décor to each restaurant location and his favorite vintage photographs from different generations of hot dog lovers.

Q: You seem to be having much success in the food industry. What made you
choose hot dogs?

My goal is to create a nationally recognized brand that embraced our love of hot dogs. I don't think anybody has tackled hot dog franchising this way. People have had a New York-style hot dog and tried to push it on a national level, but we are providing our customers with tastes from their hometown or the experience of hot dogs from parts of the world that they may have never traveled.

Hot dogs also enjoy strong margins, are universally loved, and are easy to prepare and store. That is the practical and smarter side of the business.

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