Amy and Richard Hawley are the proprietors of Idyllwild’s only food
truck, the cheerful and cheeky Dick’s Dogs. Amy sat down with the Crier
to fill us in. “Both of us worked in the restaurant business up here,
until with COVID, like many people, we were sent home for months. We
wanted to think, ‘What would sustain us through another shutdown?’
Because of our background we were accepted among other restaurants,
Ferro, Mile High, other neighbors.”
Their psychedelic gift shop, Wild Idy, opened in 2017, and Dick’s Dogs
in 2020. They parked the truck at various locations around town before
ending up in front of Wild Idy, on North Circle downtown. Amy said,
“This has turned out best; the most visibility. As an added bonus, it
helps drive foot traffic for Wild Idy. Shane [Stewart] has been gracious
since our planning phase.”
Amy and Richard love food truck culture and are always on the prowl for
new experiences and ideas. “We went to Seattle just to eat fish on the
street. It was our daughter’s birthday, she wants to be a chef, she’s 14.
She wanted to go. She’s into grunge music and food. It’s a great
city to eat your way through.”
They take their food seriously, if not themselves. “It’s called ‘Dick’s
Dogs’ because it’s funny, not because it’s just his. It’s the antithesis
of Hooters or Tilted Kilt. So many mainstream corporations have branding
that exploits women.” But Dick’s Dogs is no joke: “We take our food
seriously. We make from scratch our sauces, chilis, pickles; all the
rubs and seasonings here are made in house.”
Regular patrons have learned the ins and outs: “Local specials are not
always on the menu; the Dad Burger is not on the menu, and always sells
out. It’s a double smash burger. We were the first “smash” burger in
Idyllwild. Cheddar cheese, thin slice of tomato, grilled onions on
Brioche, the Dad sauce is like a Thousand Island with a kick. The patty
is rolled into a ball, seared, then smashed with a press to be thin like
a pancake, with crispy edges. “
Hot dogs are top of the menu, and Amy loves to talk about them. “The
hotdog is kind of the quintessential American street food. Ours is all
beef, though we do offer a vegan dog. We have anywhere from 13 to 20
available toppings, depending on what we’ve pickled or played with on
any given week. We spent the first year getting our chili recipe down
and settled on a Detroit-style chili sauce that we make from scratch. We
also have a vegan version, also scratch made. We have a half dozen
sauces we make here in house and are working on transitioning over to
in-house ketchup and relish as well.”
Not content to “smash the patriarchy one hot dog at a time” they are
always looking for new specialties. “We want to roll out fried chicken
box meals for Thursday night summer concerts. We are working on Midwest
and Southern-style side dishes, learning how to pickle and make butter
and sour cream. We made a lot of tacos before we started Taco Tuesdays.”
Taco Tuesdays feature “authentic and delicious salsas and marinades and
a small but mighty taco menu that typically sells out on preorder, which
is very exciting for us. We start taking orders on Saturday for Tuesday,
and by Tuesday morning we are usually very close to sold out if not sold
out completely. We feel a huge sense of pride knowing that we are being
supported so enthusiastically on a local level.”
A food truck comes with challenges: “There’s very limited space on a
food truck; things are limited and sell out quickly. Most restaurants
have 250 cubic feet of dry storage, let alone refrigerated and frozen.
We are 12 feet total.”
Food trucks must pass all the same inspections as conventional
restaurants, and the Hawleys are proud of their “A” rating, recognition
that they take cleanliness and good processing seriously. The regulation
of trucks is not like that for other mobile food service options. “An
enclosed truck is different from the open carts you see on the street.
They need a daily permit fee, and the bureaucratic process involved made
it not a sustainable option for us. The property owner needs to pull a
permit for vendors, ‘open air high risk vendors,’ that’s more for
special events, so we went with an enclosed truck.”
The Hawleys are looking for more ways to be a part of the community. “We
donate to everyone who approaches us.” They are always looking for
community events to take their mobile food service to the people. “A
dream of ours is to be a vendor at the big community events,
particularly the concerts. We base our summer schedule around hanging
out with the kids and friends. It’s a fleeting season, evenings in
Idyllwild. We always tell people, ‘Come on a summer Thursday and get the
real Idyllwild.’”
Dick’s Dogs is usually found at 54340 North Circle Dr. Hours are
Thursday to Monday, “11-ish to when we sell out, usually around 4.”
Tuesday is noon to 2 p.m., preorder recommended. Text (951) 282-1186.
