Columbia has already offered a warm welcome to the newest restaurant addition to Main Street: a family-friendly establishment focused on gourmet hot dogs, smash burgers, tacos and street food.

Jason and Christy Daniels are the owners of Dusty Dogz Bar & Grill at 123 S. Main Street alongside Christy’s mother Ann Wegmann, who owns Budnick Converting.

Christy spoke about how her family moved to Columbia from South County in 1992, though they’re originally from Belleville.

Jason is likewise from Belleville, having come to the area in 1986.

The couple’s plans to open a restaurant came largely from Jason’s dreams of starting up a bar, though they found themselves leaning towards a restaurant concept that would be more welcoming for their own family and other families in Columbia and beyond.

“Jason has been talking about wanting to open a sports bar, and we need to be a little bit more family friendly,” Christy said. “All of our children play sports. We wanted somewhere for families to go after soccer, basketball, volleyball, baseball, all their sports.”

Dusty Dogz is meant to be just that family-friendly establishment, though the original idea for the restaurant came from outside Columbia, courtesy of Todd Allen.

Allen has a rather substantial history as a restaurateur. He noted his background as a wine sommelier as well as the 22 years he spent operating a high-end wine bar and steak house in both Michigan and Florida.

With the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Allen said he became interested in starting up a restaurant with a particularly local focus.

“I thought it’d be a good idea to open a restaurant that supported the local animal shelters, and we like to use all-local products,” Allen said.

He recalled how he got started with the original Dusty Dogz concept that expanded over the years. The Dusty Dogz name includes a food truck in Bonita Springs, Florida, and a store in Orlando as well as a few smaller satellite stores in Petoskey, Michigan.

Allen said Dusty Dogz has earned the title of best burger in Cape Coral, Fla.; Orlando and Bonita Springs, also winning Florida’s Food Truck Wars twice.

It was rather by chance that Allen would find the Dusty Dogz name expanding into Monroe County as Christy and Jason managed to get in touch through a mutual friend.

“We talked to Todd once, and the next thing we knew, he flew up here. He was in here for one weekend, and he had vendors lined up,” Christy said.

The interior of Dusty Dogz fits with the bright atmosphere Christy said she and Jason were initially interested in, with yellow walls decorated with graffiti art.

The small space – intentionally meant to provide focused and fast service for around 50 people – features a bar and dining area as well as a small space for younger customers to play games.

The food, as mentioned, is focused on hot dogs, smash burgers and street tacos.

Allen, Christy and Jason spoke with a particular passion about the hot dogs, with Christy noting that they’re gourmet hot dogs on a lobster roll. Allen pointed out how the hot dogs are longer than most, also being made with a special blend of meats.

Allen further pointed out that gluten-free and vegetarian options are available.

Allen and the owners also spoke about the culture around Dusty Dogz.

They stressed how keeping things local has been a core part of the restaurant’s development, from getting their internet connection through HTC to sourcing their meat from Schubert’s Smokehouse in Millstadt.

They also noted how they’re getting their drinks from Fitz’s Root Beer and Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis.

Still focused on maintaining local ties, Allen and the owners reiterated their support for Helping Strays given the canine theme of the restaurant – inspired by Allen’s own dog.

“I think we’re doing it for all the right reasons,” Wegmann said. “To be family friendly, to support Helping Strays… The whole idea of helping the dogs in the community is part of it too.”

Allen noted that the restaurant is also happy to accommodate dogs, though they’ll need to stay outside.

“We are dog-friendly outside, and dogs eat and drink for free,” Allen said. “Pup-cups, hotdogs and hamburgers are free for dogs if they bring their humans.”

The owners further spoke about their hopes of supporting local athletics both as they plan to sponsor local teams and as they hope to provide a venue for families after any big game.

There’s also the family-friendly element as they intend for Dusty Dogz to be a comfortable place for parents to bring their kids. Likewise, they noted that the restaurant should serve as a good place for students at Columbia High School to work, with their own kids acting as servers.

Jason spoke about Dusty Dogz’s place in the community, saying that they’re not looking to get into any big competition with any other restaurants in Columbia. Indeed, he noted how other businesses along Main Street have already been welcoming.

“The restaurant scene in Monroe County is awesome without us, but we felt that this fit a niche to complement an already great restaurant experience,” Jason said.

With a warm welcome to the community as the restaurant opened Tuesday – they also served the occasional guest in the days leading up to the opening – Christy, Jason and Wegmann along with Allen are naturally focused on the immediate business, though they did speak to the future.

They indicated their plans to make good use of the space behind the building for music and events, also suggesting that other Dusty Dogz locations in the area could be on the horizon.

“Really, the big overall focus is just family friendly, good atmosphere, good culture, fun vibe, quick service, good food,” Christy said.

Learn more by visiting dusty-dogz.com or calling 618-281-3649.