When Sawyer Norman started Updog, a hot dog cart, the goal was to rekindle a little bit of Greenville’s past into its contemporary world.
“I grew up in Greenville and growing up there were hot dog carts downtown,” he said. He felt that he could curb the yearning for others and himself. So it was half nostalgia management, and half personal experiment.
He calls his style of hot dog “Chicago adjacent,” with 100% beef Vienna sausage sourced from Chicago by way of an Atlanta-based distributer. They are served on poppy seed buns. The dogs are steamed and served with chopped onions along with a few sauces, specifically one that Norman calls “Awesome Sauce” which he describes as a spicy burger sauce with peppers in it.
Norman held his first pop-up outside of Oxford Barber Co. in West Greenville in collaboration with its resident coffee shop Reunión Coffee July 3. He bought the cart in May and went through the necessary licensure and inspections in June before his first pop-up. He hopes to add more events to the schedule.
Norman is a full-time real estate guy but is open to the cart becoming full time someday. For now, he’ll just see what happens.
“I love hot dogs, obviously,” he began with a laugh. “But the thing that I care about most is people. So I think for me it’s a fun way to connect with people and to serve people.”
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Bite sized bit:
Sum Bar takeover: On Aug. 4, Potluck GVL and Pride and Joy Provisions will take over the dim sum bar to host a six-course dinner inspired by Latin-American flavors. Wine pairings will be provided by Mission Grape as an optional addition. Tickets can be purchased on Resy.com.
