Student-owned Roxy Dawg’s caters to student patrons

It’s no surprise that Monroe Street is filled with restaurants and businesses that all have their sights set on Oregon State University students; however, there is only one that can boast that it is owned, in part, by a current OSU student.

Roxy Dawgs, located at 1425 NW Monroe St., changed management this past August, and is now managed by two dedicated men, Curtis Fisher and Kurt Juengling.

A popular hot dog and sausage restaurant, Roxy Dawgs officially opened in early 2011 by the original owners, Connie and Marc Barnes, who named the hot dog joint after their beloved Golden Retriever. Since then Juengling and Fisher have taken over and have continued to create a friendly experience for all that visit.

They are particularly interested in gearing the business in the direction of the Oregon State community.

“We would like to build a successful business, and we would like it to be more college friendly than it was in the past,” Juengling said.

   Even in a short amount of time they have started making this dream a possibility, with simple actions such as redecorating the restaurant with an ample amount of OSU paraphernalia. Not to mention they keep the cozy restaurant filled with both up-to-date and classic music, which is sure to please a younger crowd.

“It is very chill and [Fisher and Juengling] are awesome and very understanding,” said Kelly Hall, one of the Roxy Dawg employees.  
Don’t let that fool you, altering appearances isn’t the only thing the new owners have changed; they have also added new hot dogs and changed prices to make better deals. They have even started featuring a $5 deal every day.

Some of the success in making Roxy Dawgs into a student-friendly restaurant can be attributed to Juengling’s student status. Juengling has attended four universities and has, according to Jueungling, found Oregon State to be the best one yet. He is currently working toward obtaining a degree in pre-business from OSU, along with a minor in German.

A few of his favorite things about OSU are the school spirit and the quality of classes and professors. His only complaint comes from a dislike of math.

“It’s really nice to be a business student during the day, and then come here and actually experience the work we are doing,” Juengling said.

As a seasoned business counterpart Fisher also brings his own flair to Roxy Dawgs. While Fisher is the owner of another business, Oasis Contracting, he doesn’t let that deter him from actively participating in this new business venture. One of his favorite moments has been the creation process of Roxy Dawgs’ “DAWG Sauce,” which is described as sweet ketchup.

“Kurt and I spent hours mixing, and tasting, and changing and tasting different sauces before we came up with what we thought was the right taste,” Fisher said. “After having our families taste it, we were congratulated on inventing BBQ sauce. Needless to say, we went back to the kitchen and started over to come up with our DAWG sauce.”

While the road to business success has never been entirely smooth, Fisher and Juengling have made great strides in achieving exactly that. They have even started up another business that is also housed within Roxy Dawgs.  
Their other adventure is Cravin’ Cookies, a business that produces gourmet cookies made from the finest ingredients. They have even placed a “warm now” sign in the Roxy Dawg’s window to let customers know when they can pick up cookies there as well.

When asked if the new owners wanted readers to know anything specific, they added a very spirited: “try our hot dogs.”

Anyone who wants to test out all that Roxy Dawgs has to offer can do so seven days a week at the restaurant, or at the Truax Indoor Center on game days.

Jennifer Genosick. news reporter
news@dailybarometer.com