Dog Haus to sell at all USC home games

Fans at the season opener last week against Arkansas State might have noticed some competition for the traditional hot dog vendors outside the Coliseum. The Pasadena-based gourmet sausage chain Dog Haus will be serving hot dogs and sausages at all USC home games this season near Gate 16.

“The group that basically owns the food stalls at the Coliseum … was looking for a new, fresh face, someone to come into the Coliseum, and they reached out to us about Dog Haus,” said Kristin Hansel, senior account executive of JS2 Communications, the firm that represents Dog Haus. “[With] them being Pasadena-based, franchising nationally at the moment and just with a signature item to sports games [like] hot dogs and sausages, it seemed like a great fit. They met and did a walk-through and basically with a two-day turnaround they were at the first game.”

Dog Haus will be serving three signature dogs and sausages at the Coliseum. The “Long Snap Dog” with cheese sauce, bacon and green onions; the “Buffalo Soldier,” a chicken sausage with buffalo sauce, blue cheese and crumbled BBQ chips; and the “Thai Breaker,” a spicy Thai sausage with peanut sauce, crushed peanuts and toasted coconut. Side items include tater tots with optional toppings.

“The items they are offering at the Coliseum are completely unique to that location; they are not served at any of the restaurants,” Hansel said. “Obviously, at all of their locations, they have it built around options, so theoretically they could be recreated. But, they are not menu items anywhere right now.”

Originally from Pasadena, Dog Haus has now opened locations in six states -— Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Texas, and Utah. Hansel said that Dog Haus will be opening a new eatery near USC, in the space previously occupied by Freebirds World Burrito.

“Their timeline is that they’ll be open next month,” she said. “But we can’t narrow it down anymore than that.”

Nadine Apilado contributed to this report.