Hot dog! Montana Devil Dawgs serves up American staples

Yahoo

5 days ago

Jul. 27—Stationed behind Montana Devil Dawg's food cart on a rainy Tuesday afternoon, Jeremy Maynard of Evergreen knew what his customer's order was going to be.
"Now you want the Semper Fi Dog with the jalapeno cheddar dog ... no bun," he asked.
"That's right," the customer answered.
The Semper Fi hot dog served with pulled pork and the Ooh Rah Dog with jalapeno cheddar dog are nods to his military background.
"I served four years in the Marine Corps," he said.
The quintessential metal food cart with the diamond imprint is what started it all for Maynard, who opened Montana Devil Dawgs in 2023.
"I've been a cook in the valley for 20-plus years. I've worked in different restaurants, fast food, I love cooking. I was working at M&S Meats, and a good friend of ours, she just recently passed away, she sent me a post on Facebook about this cart and actually pushed me to start doing what I love to do," he said.
His goal is to be set up in a food trailer by the fall, but he's not planning to get rid of the cart. Instead, he said it will allow him to expand to operating at two locations at a time.
"I won't ever get rid of this. This is where it all started. This is going to stay with us," he said while making pulled pork nachos for a customer.
Montana Devil Dawgs is a family affair that includes his wife Kim and their son Brayden, who recently graduated from Glacier High School. Along with taking customer orders and helping out at the stand, Kim Maynard is also responsible for finding locations to set up shop. She said a great resource has been other food truck vendors.
"We call it the food truck family. They're such great encouragers. Talking to other food truck vendors, they'll give you insights of what we need to do to progress," Kim Maynard said.
Montana Devil Dawgs' menu includes all-beef hot dogs, burgers, pulled pork, loaded potatoes, wraps and nachos. The loaded potato options included loaded with chili and cheese and the Idaho which comes with a hotdog, crumbled bacon and chives.
"I'm a hot dog connoisseur," he said with a laugh. "And growing up, some of my greatest memories with me and my dad are going to A's games out in Oakland and watching the A's and having a hot dog and things like that. Hot dogs, to me, help make memories for families. It's an American staple. You go to a barbecue. What do they have? Hot dogs, burgers, maybe chicken."
He gets the staples of his menu from other local, family-owned companies — Lower Valley Processing Company in Kalispell and Montana Longhorn Company in Whitefish.
"One of the biggest things that people love, one that it's veteran-owned and operated and that we support local. That's a big thing around here in the valley," he said.
A Chicago, or New York, or other notable hot dog style, may be on the menu once they get set up in a trailer with more space to prepare the fixings, he said.
What is Jeremy Maynard's personal favorite way to serve a hot dog?
"For me, a good old-fashioned all-beef hot dog with mustard, that's the way," he said. "It's just simple, easy, but it tastes good. It's my favorite."
Coming up with a business name was fun for the Maynards. Jeremy Maynard brainstormed catchy and funny phrases while his wife served as a sounding board if they were too suggestive.
"I'm like, make it mean something," Kim Maynard said, laughing.
He did.
"Devil Dogs was a name given to the Marines in World War I at the Battle of Belleau Wood by the Germans because the way we fought reminded them of hell hounds," Jeremy Maynard said.
"We give first responder and military discounts because they work their butts off, day in, day out for what they do," he added. "And we love our customers. We thank every single one of them for their support and giving us that chance and just enjoying the food that we put out.
The next stop for the Montana Devil Dawgs will be the Flathead Faerie Festival today. The business will also be at the Evergreen Show 'N' Shine in August.
Find out where Devil Dawgs will be next on Facebook. For more information, call 253-2758 or email [e-mail].
Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or [e-mail].
Jeremy Maynard, Devil Dawgs owner and operator, makes a Semper Fi Dog to order Tuesday, July 22, 2025, in the parking lot of Nomad Global Communication Solutions in Columbia Falls. The specialty menu item comes standard with an all-beef hot dog, pulled pork, mustard, pickle slice, onions and barbecue sauce. (Hilary Matheson/Daily Inter Lake)
Jeremy Maynard, owner of Evergreen-based Montana Devil Dawgs, operates the food stand with his wife Kim and son Brayden on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, in Columbia Falls. (Hilary Matheson/Daily Inter Lake)
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