We recently connected with Drew Colclough and have shared our conversation below.

Drew, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?

I hope to change the food industry by not only being disruptive with new items that people haven’t tried before but by changing the way people experience food as I’m a big believer in the importance of a customer’s journey. From the moment a consumer embraces the smells, enjoys the customer service, bites into something delicious, or even sips down a frosty cold one, the idea is to have them walk away from your establishment with that memory engrained into their mind forever. With our company culture and what I have planned for the future, I know I can start that in the Hot-Dog industry.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My background has always been in the corporate world, but my desires were always focused on being an entrepreneur. I’ve tried to start companies, but it seemed like nothing would ever stick. With not having a lot of money, and basically always having been involved with the hospitality industry, I thought to myself, “I don’t have an invention to offer, so what’s something that everybody loves and has been around for a long time?” I don’t know why, but my quickest answers were food, dogs, and hot dogs and the idea of a hot dog stand seemed easy enough and low-cost. So at that moment, Diggy Dogs was born and we decided to go with a Dog-themed business. I like to think outside the box sometimes, and believe that if we just served hot dogs with ketchup and mustard that it wouldn’t suffice for my creative thinking. So that’s where our slogan began “Find A Dog You Dig.” We obviously offer all the classics like Chili, Saurkraut, Cheese, and all those toppings, but also started doing Mac and Cheese, BBQ, Buffalo Chicken, Pastrami, Chips, different coleslaws, cream cheese and so much more. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard “Holy crap, this is so dang good”, but the customer always had the freedom to tell us how they wanted their hot dog. We got questions like “can you throw a little bit of this on there..”, “Can you burn the dog a little bit more…”, “Can I get it without that..” and we always respected what the customer wants. In my opinion, I think the idea worked because we have so many repeat customers, who tell us “this is the best dog I’ve ever had” and have become fan favorites with the events and festivals we attend in the Tampa Bay area.

I’m most proud of our team of course, but really how they adapt to any kind of situation with us as a mobile food business. Serving different people, different places, and different styles of Dogs, can get a little overwhelming at times, but we always seem to find the right balance and vibe at these events and get complimented on our great customer service while serving our gourmet hot dogs.

What I would want the audience to know is that Diggy Dogs stands for a whole lot besides just serving delicious gourmet hot dogs. We participate/donate in events to help dogs find homes, give out free food and merch sometimes, and try to contribute to our community as much as possible. But when our customers are hungry, we preach to them to “Find a Dog You Dig”

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Having started this company in 2019, we had a lot of uphill battles. Every new business has its kinks that always need to be ironed out, but just as we started building momentum, COVID-19 hit and basically put Diggy Dogs at a standstill. 2020 was for sure a rough year for the hospitality industry, but we didn’t let the virus break our spirits. We did everything we could to stay afloat and when events and festivals opened back up, we hit the ground running by building our network again. We serve food, so we had to act within the guidelines (that changed every couple of months) so that our business could survive.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Our reputation is getting bigger by the day, and I think what contributes to that is our social media and the content we provide, our hard-working team that stays informed, community outreach, participation in events in our surrounding communities, our brand and what we stand for, and most importantly our delicious Hot Dogs. My biggest piece of advice is not to work, but to try your best, but understand when you take days off, it just allows for your competition to close the gap or move the needle farther.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: diggydogs_tampa
• Facebook: Diggy Dogs
• Linkedin: Diggy Dogs
• Yelp: Diggy Dogs
• Other: Tik Tok: Diggy Dogs