Turk Dawgs to add food truck

Turk Dawgs, a local pop-up hot dog operation by Suzana Long and her fiance, Brian Higgins, is looking to grow with a mobile food truck from Oklahoma being added in the next few weeks.

Long and Higgins quit their 9-to-5 jobs to go all-in on hot dogs and made what was previously a side hustle into their main vocation.

On Wednesday, April 26, the couple was selling its product at Jackson Food Truck Rally at the city's St. Louis Mountain Railway location.

"When this first started, (Turk Dawgs) was just a hobby, but we saw Cape Girardeau didn't have a hot dog cart, and there are a lot of people who love hot dogs," said Long, a mother of four who previously worked for Drury Management.

Higgins was a 17-year employee of Olive Garden before he joined Long in the business.

"We started getting busier and busier, and we have businesses reaching out to book us, so now (Turk Dawgs) is full time for us. Because of my kids, we go to softball games all the time, and when we travel with them, we look for a hot dog stand in St. Louis or Memphis or wherever. Around here, no one else was doing hot dogs," Long said.

"When we first set up in a parking lot in Cape, it didn't take very long before we started getting calls from churches and different companies who wanted to book us," she added.

Long said she and Higgins have found a community of like-minded entrepreneurs.

"The food trucks we see have been super supportive, giving advice and helping us out. Some other places people may work may see a more cutthroat environment," she said. "With the kids, one of whom is special needs, it's great to be able to take winters off and spend time with them doing this."

Long and Higgins started the business as a side hustle in September 2021 but made it a full time business April 1, 2022.

Turk Dawgs' Facebook site regularly updates where the hot dog cart will be in a given week.

"We try out every single dog that's on the menu at home first. Friends and family give us feedback, and we have multiple taste tests before we try to sell," Long said, who added their baked beans and chili are made from scratch, with "Turkado" their No. 1 selling product.

"Our slogan is, 'We are quite frankly the best'. We just love doing this, and we are the little red gourmet hot dog cart you may see around town," said Long, who said she and Higgins have lived in Cape Girardeau County for more than 20 years.

NOTE: Suzana Long is not related to the author of this article.

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