By Bremen Leak
Jayson Edward?s paint-stripped vintage Chevy truck may one day rival the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile.
Parked behind J Dawgs ? Edward?s hot dog stand on the corner of Campus Drive and 700 East ? the restored vehicle will soon tote a new paint job, either ketchup-red or mustard-yellow, to help sell frankfurters to the people who love to eat them. This summer, J Dawgs sold 4,000 frankfurters, and the business is picking up steam.
?Grilling dogs is too fun, man,? Edwards said, lifting an 8-inch, quarter-pound hot dog from a smoky grill. He nestled it onto a bun that was baked that morning at a local bakery, and wrapped it in foil for an eager customer. ?Everything is custom,? he said, ?from the fresh buns to the special sauce.?
An Asian studies major from Gladstone, Ore., Edwards opened his shack on June 9; he broke even two weeks later. The venue is helping the 24-year-old entrepreneur get an education in more ways than one.
Under business mentor Jerry Nelson, a BYU professor of business management, Edwards won an entrepreneurship competition earlier this year at the Marriott School, which picked up his tuition for the coming school year. He has also learned a little Spanish serving hot dogs to the Hispanic community.
?Cebolla,? he said to a customer, scooping a heap of onions onto a polish sausage.
J Dawgs caters to a regular crowd, mostly students and campus employees, but curious first-time customers are always in the mix.
?Jayson, where have you been all these years?? said one customer, nearly dripping special sauce on her blouse. The sweet barbeque sauce is a secret recipe of Edwards?s mother.
Visiting from Oregon, parents Scott and Debbie Edwards, enjoy watching their son at work.
?I tell him we need a sign out front that says ?Hot dog: free. Therapy: $3.50,?? joked Scott. He believes his son could be as successful as J.W. Marriott, the man who turned a small root beer stand into a multibillion-dollar hotel industry. ?He could be a multi-bizillionaire,? Scott said.
?He loves people,? Debbie said about her son, Jayson. ?He remembers them and knows what they?re going to order. It?s so fun to see.?
Before a trio of BYU professors joined the line, Edwards already knew what they were craving?a fully loaded wienerwurst with jalapenos, banana peppers, a pickle spear and onions.
?Are you guys hungry or did you just come here to chat?? Edwards laughed through the window of his bright red shack.
?You should know what we want just as soon as you see us,? one replied.
?He doesn?t even have to see us,? said another. ?He knows we?ll be here.?
Nearby, another customer boasted of having eaten four?well, almost four, he admitted, spilling sauerkraut from the corners of his mouth.
Edwards said the record number of dogs consumed belongs to the president of a hot dog club, which formed one morning outside his shack. To determine the president, three students held a dog-eating competition; the winner swallowed five franks.
Edwards said one of his best friends, a former all-star for the Chicago Cubs, prefers J-Dawg dogs to the hotdogs of Boston?s Fenway Park. Besides, his stand is one of only a few places in town with Apple Beer on tap.
Edwards has plans for expansion, including a nine-foot long trailer, from which he will sell his custom dogs to hungry football fans outside the stadium. Chili dogs will soon be on the menu, and after opening a few new locations, J Dawgs will be on the map. As for the Chevy, it will shine like a new bottle of ketchup.
?You just have to have a little vision, spend a little time, see the potential, and make it look good,? Edwards said. ?It?s not just that way with a truck or a hot dog stand but with all of life.?
