Student set to open late-night hot dog restaurant this fall

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A new restaurant coming this fall to Mount Pleasant will feature all types of hot dogs, from the basic to the extravagant.

Dog Central, 111 E. Michigan St. Suite 5, is set to open in mid to late October.

“We’re going to have the typical stuff, and we’ll have some wild stuff for people to try, too,” said Paul McFall, Belmont senior and owner of Dog Central. “If you can think of it, we will have it. If we don’t have it, let us know and we’ll try it.”

Dog Central will be open until 4 a.m., so bar patrons will be able to stop by after bars close and continue their night’s festivities.

McFall said the restaurant is similar to Yesterdog and The Dog Pit in Grand Rapids and What Up Dawg? in Lansing.

The main attraction is hot dogs with a twist, he said.

“We’re more like a Subway of hot dogs, with all of the toppings,” McFall said.

The menu, set to be published during the first week of October, will include different combinations of toppings to try on hot dogs. Customers can, if they wish, choose their own combination as well.

Howell sophomore Victoria Keough is looking forward to the new restaurant, which is in walking distance from where she lives.

“I’ve never had different toppings on a hot dog before,” Keough said.

McFall is looking to attract all audiences with Dog Central.

“I wanted to have a mix of varieties, for both community members and the late-night college crowd,” he said.

McFall will be graduating in December, but plans to stay in Mount Pleasant to run Dog Central.

“I could have graduated in August, but I took the summer off to work on the restaurant,” he explained. “I’ll be staying for 6 months to a year, then decide if I want to stay or hire a full-time manager to take over.”

Downtown businesses are also looking forward to the restaurant, hoping it will draw more students to the area.

“I think it will be very beneficial for students,” Terese Fortino, manager at Marty’s Bar and Grill said.

Fortino isn’t worried about the competition because Marty’s stops serving food by 10 p.m.

To follow the progress of Dog Central and for more information on when it will open, find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DogCentral.CMU.