5 Dogs Gourmet Hot Dogs’ ambitious expansion of up to 50 stores has been halted due to the lack of available sites, according to the franchise’s owner. “We’ve had a couple of strong [franchisee] leads, but we just haven’t been able to find suitable locations for them,” Robert Heuston, owner of 5 Dogs, told Inside Retail PREMIUM. The Brisbane-based business is seeking high traffic areas such as shopping centres and train stations for its kiosk format, with sites ranging fro
m around 20sqm to 30sqm, however, it opened just one permanent store since its debut in 2011.
“We operate on a small footprint in high traffic areas, and unfortunately they’re the hardest locations to come by,” Heuston said.
While it has been a battle for 5 Dogs to find suitable sites, with the company waiting almost a year for its first location in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, Heuston believes there’s scope for between 200 to 300 stores for the brand’s offering in Australia, but is aiming for around 50 stores over the next five to 10 years.
“For our food style and what we do there’s probably room for 200 or 300 in Australia. But at the moment as a brand I think our aim is around the 50 mark in Australia over the next five to 10 years.”
Heuston says 5 Dogs has received significant interest in Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth, while closer to home it is eyeing Indooroopilly and Toowong.
The gourmet hot dog chain intends to make its Melbourne debut with a larger, American diner-style format within the next two years.
“We have an idea that we can operate from a kiosk right through to your cafe/sports bar type location.
“We don’t want to open a kiosk first in Melbourne, we want a slightly bigger location where people can sit. We want [customers] to be surrounded by video game machines, be able to have a beer, and watch sports. With a smaller kiosk you’re limited in what you can offer, and we want to be able to offer a whole range of items such as fries and milkshakes for kids.”
In addition to a cafe-style model, 5 Dogs is preparing to launch its own take on the popular food truck model. Expected to be complete in 2015, the hot rod has been dubbed by Heuston as a mix between a food truck and a market stall.
“It’s a cafe style hot rod that converts into a cooking station. It’s a cross between a food truck and a market stall.
“We’ve only just found a suitable vehicle and now we’re going through the planning stages of how we can set it up.
“We’ve looked at what’s around and the food trucks that are out there are not that interesting. We aim to do everything a little bit differently.”
