A NEW WAY TO SERVE Food trucks and carts are on the rise in the tri-state WRITER: MARISA PATWA
Food trucks and food carts are popping up everywhere in Warrick County, from sporting events, birthdays and graduation parties, employee picnics, Christmas parades, wedding receptions, even the Newburgh and Warrick County farmers markets. With hot dogs, ice cream pops and specialty pizza, these mobile meals have become a mania in their own right especially during the spring and summer months. It’s like getting Fall Fest all year long. Curious about what makes these new methods of eating so popular, Newburgh Magazine profiled the owners of three Tri-State food trucks and carts, Kent Greathouse with River City Dawgs, Tom Martin with Papa T’s Tamales and Todd Megar with Lollys Pop Bar, who gave us the inside scoop on the tasty treats they serve, what makes them so special and where in the area you can grab some grub from them this year.
River City Dawgs River City Dawgs is one of a few hot dog carts in the tri-state. Although owner Kent Greathouse feels more camaraderie than competition with his fellow hot-dog vendors. In fact, he is quite supportive of Newburgh’s own Dawgs on the Ohio. For Greathouse, his venture started in 2015 when he randomly came home from work one day wanting to run a hot dog cart. He then built a cart and went from working his day job full-time to part-time to eventually running the cart full time. He and his wife Jennifer then ended operating it together until she passed away at the end of last year. “We were married 31 years, but the last five we spent more time together running the hot dog cart,” Greathouse said. “I just love it. I said all my life, ‘I’ll get me a weenie wagon,’ jokingly. When you get old, what are you going to do? Just sit around and grow older? No, we wanted to get out and go to events and it just took off.” These gourmet hot dogs are 100 percent natural all-beef, sandwiched in warm steamed buns. “We have hot dogs, brats and smoked sausage,” Greathouse said. “I got my classic dog with mustard, ketchup, onion. Then the chili cheese dogs with chili cheese and onions. The Carolina Dogs have chili, coleslaw and brown mustard. The Slaw Dogs have brown mustard and slaw I make myself. The Westsider Dog is sauerkraut and brown mustard and the Chicago Style Dog is really popular with mustard, relish, onion, tomato wedges, pickle, spears, celery salt and served on poppy seed bun. I get my buns out of Chicago from Alpha Baking. They are made for steam.” River City Dawgs can often be found on Franklin Street near the bars on Friday and Saturday nights to help anyone satiate late cravings. Greathouse will also occasionally serve the Deaconess Women’s Hospital, Tri-State Orthopaedics and the Shoe Carnival Corporate Office, among others. “I’m getting ready to go again this year,” Greathouse said. “I have a lot of people supporting me and offering to help me. [Jennifer] love’d doing it. I’m doing it.”
