If you thought celebrity-backed restaurants were a thing of the past, think again. YouTube influencer turned boxer Jake Paul is looking to grow his partnership with emerging restaurant brand Dog Haus with an Atlanta unit among his group's upcoming expansion plans.
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| Photo courtesy of Dog Haus |
The core Dog Haus menu is centered on hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, and sliders, not unlike many other restaurants. The restaurant indicates that it uses only hormone and antibiotic-free meats and serves its sandwiches on King's Hawaiian rolls, again, not an industry first.
What is interesting and unique to the brand is their offering of "Bad Ass Breakfast Burritos" (BABB). Launched as a virtual brand during 2020 pandemic shutdown, BABB has thrived and added significant incremental revenue to the Dog Haus business. The Dog Haus website indicates there are nine breakfast burrito options, including two made with Impossible sausage, but further clarifies that options vary by location.
The brand also features standard locations as well those called "Dog Haus Biergarten" that include a full bar and plenty of beers on draft.
Despite the planned growth, locations have already started to close including one in Barboursville, West Virginia which shuttered this past December after just three years in business. Other locations closed in 2024 in Cheyenne, Wyoming and San Antonio, among others.
A release Friday indicates that Paul, who last October joined the restaurant's Board of Directors and signed a 25 unit franchising agreement with Dog Haus, plans to open 10 additional locations by the end of 2025. Paul has already opened three locations in Texas, including Arlington, San Antonio (Bandera Oaks), Houston (Missouri City), with Dallas (Richardson) expected to (re)open in April.
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| Dog Haus Cheeseburger |
Joining Paul in expanding the "craft-casual" brand are several members of his "inner circle" and friends, including Puerto Rican professional boxer Amanda Serrano, who will partner with him for Dog Haus’ first Puerto Rico location in the city of Dorado. Paul, 28, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, today calls Puerto Rico home.
Paul’s business partner and fellow Dog Haus board member Nakisa Bidarian will be developing a location in Atlanta. Bidarian, formerly CFO of the UFC, is today Paul's co-founder in Most Valuable Promotions. It's unclear what drew Bidarian, an Iranian-Canadian, to Atlanta. The release did not mention when or where the Atlanta location would open, or even if it had been identified.
Separately, Paul's Chief Operating Officer Marcos Guerrero will debut the brand in Miami, and Paul’s trainer and nutritionist, Chef Eric Triliegi, intends to open in Tennessee.
According to the release, Dog Haus "will invite new franchisees to get in on the action, launching area development deals where entrepreneurs can partner with Paul to bring the award-winning concept to new markets."
The release goes on to explain, kind of, the relationship...
"Jake will be developing 20 stores in 20 different trade areas across the county over the next two years, from coast to coast. Each trade area offers an opportunity for experienced operators to partner with Jake on a marquee store in a marquee location. In addition to the co-owned store with Jake, a partnership with him entails a 10-unit area development deal for the surrounding area."
“Why do 20 stores when we can do over 200 stores?”, says Paul.
The "partnership" sounds strange, and the targeted growth sounds incredibly ambitious, but for a dude who calls himself "The Problem Child," should we expect anything less?
Have you been to Dog Haus? Where do you think Dog Haus should open in Atlanta? Do you think Dog Haus will find success in Atlanta?
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