If you read my welcome post, you know I live in downtown Phoenix. What I didn’t expand on though is the fact that I’m a HUGE foodie. I firmly believe that Phoenix will soon be on the nation’s radar as a major food destination. In my ‘hood, we’ve got three farmers’ markets per week and an amazing Food Truck Friday that would blow your mind.

One of my all time favorite spots is a 3-minute walk from my apartment, which is both a blessing a curse. Short Leash Hot Dogs + Rollover Doughnuts is without a doubt the most unique dining experience you can get in downtown Phoenix. Not to mention, how cute is the name?

Known for its insane combinations, Short Leash isn’t afraid to ditch the traditional bun for naan bread, and it definitely isn’t afraid to spread peanut butter on its dogs. (Seriously, check out their menu) And the doughnuts? Oy vey. My personal favorite is the maple bacon, and yes, there is bacon bites sprinkled on top, and no, I do not regret the calories consumed. Craziest thing? That’s a relatively simple donut compared to the others.

From Left: Brown Butter Glaze with Streusel, Iced Chai, Cookie Dough Doughnut. Photo by Taylor Seely.

Needless to say, when I came across the newest Short Leash, near Cityscape in downtown Phoenix, I freaked out. Unlike its restaurant style spot on Roosevelt, this one is deli-style, where you walk up, order your dog and watch the staff add toppings as you choose. (Fun fact – there’s soup too!) It’s more for the on-the-go worker in downtown.

The newest spot marks the fourth location – the three others being Roosevelt Street, a walk-up spot in The Biltmore Union, and the Rollover Doughnut location on Central and Vernon avenues, which does not serve dogs.

Photo by Taylor Seely

This week, I spoke with Brad Moore who owns all four restaurants with his wife, Kat, on how they got started and where the inspiration came from.

CitS: How did Short Leash begin?

Brad: I was in banking, and (Kat) was an interior designer. In 2010 we started as a food truck, a little bitty trailer. We started the food truck because it was more affordable and less ominous than trying to start a restaurant. We did that for 3 years before we opened up a spot on Roosevelt. Basically, we just got to that point where we were saying no too many times (to opportunities) because we were so limited with the food truck.

CitS: What led you from banking and interior design to the restaurant industry?

Brad: For us, it was an opportunity to start something on our own, and it was during the housing crisis. The bank I was working for got closed by the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Company), and she worked for an interior design company that did predominantly model homes, so obviously construction came to a halt. So we just came to that place where we were like, ‘Hey, let’s start something of our own,’ but a restaurant was a very expensive endeavor. The food truck gave us that opportunity to finance ourselves without taking out loans or anything. It was something that we could start part-time and grow into.

CitS: Why hot dogs and doughnuts? 

Brad: Well, neither one of us is a chef, (and) we don’t come from the restaurant industry. We wanted to pick a food that was fairly simple, but we also knew that going into it, hot dog vendors are everywhere. So we thought, if we’re going to do hotdogs, we need to do something that’s truly unique and really pushes the envelope of what people typically think as a hot dog. The doughnuts came second. We had had the shop on Roosevelt for some time, and we started playing with the idea of donuts as a dessert option. I grew up in Dallas and there’s a doughnut shop on every corner of Dallas…

CitS: Aren’t hot dogs and doughnuts a weird combination?

Brad: No, because I think what we’re trying to do with our doughnuts is what we’re trying to do with the hot dogs. We take that classic American staple and really trick it out, so we have those standard doughnuts, but at the same time, we’ve got some really cool flavor combinations like the Thai Coconut. The features that we do every week are really fun and interesting.

Photo by Taylor Seely

CitS: Tell me more about how your food is unique and really pushes the envelope as you say.

Brad: We’re using a fantastic hot dog company, Schreiner’s Fine Sausages, that makes the meat for us. They’re all nitrate free and preservative free. So we use the highest quality hotdog, we use a premium bread (naan) to create some of the fun combinations and flavor profiles that people wouldn’t really think of with a hotdog. (For the doughnuts), We do a brioche style doughnut. We make the dough the day before because it rises overnight, (then) hand-roll, hand-cut, and fry them here. We make all the glazes here. It’s a different style of donut and has a little bit more texture. It’s not the kind where you bite into it and it dissolves in your mouth. It’s a little bit more a labor of love.

Photo by Taylor Seely

CitS: What’s the typical Short Leash + Rollover goer like?

Brad: I’d say definitely adventurous. They look for some of the fun things we’re doing, or they look to build their own (hot dog combinations). I would say (they’re) people who are interested in where the food comes from and (like) knowing that a local meat shop makes our meat and a local pickle company makes our pickles and relish. I think people like to hear that story. (Also) locally focused and locally minded is kind of who we are.

CitS: What’s the difference between Roosevelt Row location and downtown location?

Brad: Well, what we realized was the people who work downtown, they pretty much come here to work, and then they leave. We’re finding that about, I’d say, 80% of the people who are coming in have eaten off the truck but had no clue we have a location on Roosevelt, so it’s a completely different clientele, despite the close proximity. The people who work in the offices stick to the places that are walkable for lunch.

CitS: What do you look for in employees?

Brad: I don’t think you can teach attitude and being nice. We can teach people how to cook or drive the truck, but when it comes to the attitude or the type of company that we want it be, we’re looking for people who are fun and enthusiastic, but at the same time, work really hard. I’d say that’s the hardest part in expanding – finding really great people who have the right attitude and work ethic.

CitS: How do you keep the Short Leash charm amongst each location?

Brad: we have this thing called 80 square feet (See photo galley below), which was the size of our trailer, and it’s kind of our 8 core values. Part of having people emulate what you want and what you think your company should be about is being able to say okay these are our core values. This is what we’re going to measure you by, and this is what you can measure us by. It’s what the customers should be able to measure us by… and if we can all live up to these, we’ll be in a good place and we’ll be able to maintain that fun, energetic atmosphere. It’s something we’re proud of.