A Sammamish couple started their new business to teach their boys some responsibility.
“Living in this area, we are privileged,” Sandra Collins said. “We wanted to show them you have to work hard in life.”
Collins and her husband, Wayne, opened The Dog Spot this summer, selling dogs at various community events like the Wednesday Sammamish Farmers Market.
They offer 100 percent beef, smoked sausage and polish hot dogs, with chips and drinks for sale as well. A dog on its own is $4. For a meal, it’s $6 — or $5 if you qualify for the student discount. The meal includes the hot dog, chips and a drink.
The Collins boys — Jeramiah, 6, Isaiah, 13 and Joshua, 19 — do the heavy lifting, like loading the cart, and help with the business side of things, like managing the inventory, while their mom works the events.
“It’s really a family business,” Sandra Collins said.
The Collins have lived in Sammamish for 18 years.
Sandra, 48, and Wayne, 50, had been talking about opening a Caribbean restaurant, but there were too many obstacles to take that on right now.
“We wanted something we could do where we could both keep our jobs,” Sandra Collins said.
So a hot dog vendor it is.
As well as teaching their boys important life lessons, Collins has had help from her friend’s son.
Trey Kubalanza, 17, already had his food handlers card from working in a restaurant in Bothell. He said he likes working. It’s taught him organizational skills and that maintaining a positive presentation is important in any customer service job.
“It kind of makes you an overall better person,” Kubalanza said. “I just like seeing people enjoy the stuff you make.”
Kubalanza has worked with Collins the last several months, including at Sammamish Days Aug. 22.
Collins will continue to cater to events and various groups into the fall.
For example, she’ll be at the Northwest Children’s Fund Golf Tournament in Redmond, Sept. 11. She’ll also be at the Discovery Elementary School Art Walk, also on Sept. 11.
To book The Dog Spot, call Collins at 206-972-1964.
