Who doesn’t love a hot dog? “It’s kind of a funny subject because it’s actually a lot of people’s guilty pleasure that nobody talks about,” says Suz McKinney, who owns Pints Dog House with her husband Scott. They’ve turned that secret, guilty pleasure into a family- and dog-friendly gourmet hot dog establishment in Lacey called Pints Dog House that just opened two months ago.
Suz and Scott are not newbies to the restaurant scene. They own Pints & Quarts in Lacey, the Pints Barn in Tumwater and are half owners of the Oyster House in Olympia. The idea for the Pints Dog House was something that came up spur of the moment, when someone they knew was trying to fill a space at the new HUB Apartments. “We just came up with the hot dogs because those go with beer and are family-friendly: kids love hot dogs!” Suz explains.
The biggest problem? The space. “It’s like a tiny home for us, which is a challenge,” she explains. The solution? A food truck parked outside that acts as the restaurant’s kitchen. This means the food truck does not move and is not available to cater events. But it does allow for Pints Dog house to have space for dine-in customers. Don’t order at the food truck – head inside, take a seat and the server will come to take your order and deliver your drinks. You can also order your food to-go, in case you need to eat your dogs on the run.
Gourmet Hot Dogs in Lacey
How does peanut butter on your hot dog sound? Or maybe mac ‘n’ cheese or balsamic glaze? You’ll find all this and much more at Pints Dog House! Suz and Scott care about quality, so everything is sourced as locally as possible. For example, Johnson Meats provides their smokey philly brats and cheddar brats. Marv’s Marvlus Pit BBQ creates their pulled pork for The Hank Dog.
And speaking of hot dog menu names, those names are not just random! In fact, all but one of their dogs on their menu are named after real dogs owned by family and friends! The Tatum and The Penny Dog are named after the couple’s own French bulldogs.
“The P.K. Dog is named after our business partner from the Oyster House that we lost to cancer,” shares Suz. “We did a mock up of the Chick ‘n’ Pics – which is one of my favorite appetizers on the Oyster House menu and we call it The P.K. Dog in honor of the late Patrick Knutson. He made that recipe up at the Oyster House and it’s just delightful.” The P.K. Dog is battered chicken strips, a beef dog, honey mustard, chopped dill pickle and drizzle of balsamic glaze.
And, as you may expect, they are a dog friendly-restaurant in Lacey! So, bring your four-legged friend with you to try these scrumptious hot dogs. And if you are not sure which one to try on your first visit, Suz says The Archie, a beef dog with cream cheese, grilled onions and bacon; The Hank, pulled pork topped with mac ‘n’ cheese, special white barbecue sauce and picked red onion; The Finn, yellow mustard, neon relish, raw onions, tomatoes, pickle spear and sport peppers; and The Baxter dog, choice of meat with bacon, chili, cheddar jack cheese and Doritos are their most popular. They all sound good, you may just order them all to try!
Pints Dog House Grand Opening
Help them celebrate their grand opening June 9-10! They will have live music from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. both days. Head out for giveaways, peanut butter and bacon bubbles for the dogs and hot dog-shaped cake pops! On Saturday, June 10, they will have a professional balloon twister for the kids from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Stay in Touch with Pints Dog House
They are still working on getting their patio space set up, but they should have tables and awnings soon to accommodate year-round outdoor sitting. In addition, they will soon be open on Mondays for football season and are planning on offering breakfast dogs with hashbrowns, yum!
Pints Dog House is also currently hiring, so if working here sounds fun, reach out to them about openings.
For more information, including updated menu as well as operating videos, check out the Pints Dog House website and Facebook page.
Pints Dog House
4444 6th Avenue SE, Lacey
