Hot Diggity Dawg! a New Lunch Option in Danville, Indiana!

There's a new dawg in town. A gourmet dawg, to be precise. Diggity Gourmet Dawgs opened on the Courthouse Square in Danville on Friday, May 6, coinciding with the first First Friday Cruise-In car show of the season.

Diggity Gourmet Dawgs
68 S. Jefferson Street
Danville, IN 46122
Diggity's Facebook page
diggitygourmet-dawgs@yahoo.com

Co-owned by Shannon Shirven and Kerry Trout, Diggity is a carry-out hot dog shop located on the west side of the Square that will target the Danville lunch crowd, offering folks a dining option that has been absent from the Hendricks County seat. Low prices and fast, friendly service are sure to attract Courthouse employees, attorneys, residents, and visitors to the Square for lunch.

More than just hot dogs on buns, Diggity dawgs come in eight gourmet varieties that include the ever-popular Chicago Style dawg, a Coney Island dawg, and a Classic Carolina dawg. Diggity even offers a low calorie, low carb dawg called What's the Skinny? Prices range on the gourmet dawgs from $3.00 to $4.50 a piece.

Patrons can also build their own dawg with a variety of classic hot dog toppings--plus the option of the homemade Diggity Sauce--for free, or any of a variety of 16 deluxe toppings for 50 cents a piece. A plain frank starts at $2.50.

Wet your whistle with an IBC root beer, a lemonade, or bottled water for $1.50.

Diggity also offers kids' meals--a hot dog, chips, a candy treat, and drink--for $5.00. A perfect way to feed the family for under $20.00.

Additionally, they have the ability to feed a crowd with their Dawgy Bag--20 dawgs, individually wrapped toppings, delivered to your location in a brown bag--for $40.00. Perfect for board meetings or for feeding a sports team inexpensively.

Diggity accepts cash and checks and is open from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. or later on Friday and Saturday, depending on the events on the Square on any given weekend, Shirven said.

A Dawg is Born

Amazingly, Trout and Shirven opened their business a mere 60 days from the time they first discussed the idea. Shirven credits their two husbands' support and handyman abilities in helping them gut, refurbish, and paint a property that hadn't been updated in nearly 30 years. Time was so tight that Diggity passed its final inspection less than three hours before it opened.

"We like living on the edge!" joked Shirven.

Diggity's first day of business was a smashing success, though, despite the condensed schedule that prevented Trout and Shirven from doing any sort of meaningful advance publicity. They sold 200 hot dogs in four hours during First Friday.

Shirven said that as the business grows, she and Trout would like to create a hot dog cart, allowing them the mobility to travel to local events, such as the Hendricks County 4-H Fair. They also plan to start an e-mail newsletter and feature new recipes as Dawgs of the Month in the future.

My Experience

I work on the Courthouse Square, and I love old cars, so when I caught wind that Diggity was opening for First Friday, I brought the family downtown to give it a try.

I tried the Reuben gourmet dawg. Sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and thousand island dressing on a bun-length hot dog was delicious. Just the right tang on the sauerkraut, and it tasted just like my favorite sandwich.

The Mrs. built her own with Diggity Sauce and cole slaw and thoroughly enjoyed it, too. She raved about the sauce for hours afterwards.

We were also provided with a punch-card to keep track of how many dawgs we've purchased there. After ten dawgs, we get one free.

I think I just found my new favorite lunch spot.