By Nate Abraham Jr.
BUSINESS OF THE WEEK
Shelli Pue is a born entrepreneur. She launched her first business venture when she was in grade school.
“Ever since I was a child, I used to sell candy at school, do hair, baby-sit – I even sold the little things that would come in the mail,” Shelli recalled. “I’ve always had that entrepreneurial spirit of hustle.”
Shelli graduated from Ridge View High School in 2004 and attended Midlands Technical College.
In 2008, Shelli received her real estate license. She worked as an on-site agent for a local builder. It was an eye-opening experience.
“At that time, the builder was really young,” Shelli recalled. “He had 14 different communities in the Midlands that I was selling for as part of his team. I kept saying that if he could do that, surely I could do something.”
Shelli got a job as a manager for the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau.
“The beauty of that job was that it was temporary,” she says. “When the census was over, it was my opportunity to go out on my own.”
Shelli drew upon her experiences in real estate and decided to get a license as a residential builder.
“I started helping people of low to very-low income get their houses repaired for free, using grant funding,” Shelli said. “It brought a lot of service to people who otherwise would not have been able to get their houses repaired.”
Shelli had an office on Two Notch Road. When her lease ended, she moved to a co-working space in The Vista. It was December 2019 – right before the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I loved being down in The Vista,” Shelli said. “It was bustling — then COVID happened. “We went through a lockdown, so I ended my membership there, and began working from home.”
Shelli felt that she was not as productive as she was before she started working from home, so she began looking for office space.
“I wanted to go back to the Vista. So just on a whim, I got in a car and I drove down Gervais Street. At 508 Gervais Street, I saw a for lease sign. Out of curiosity, I called just so I could get some numbers,” Shelli said.
The landlord was there in 20 minutes.
“I started looking at the space, and I could see all the possibilities. Since I had a background in construction, I could calculate how much it was going to cost to fix everything.”
The landlord saw her thinking, and said “You would open this garage door and on Monday through Friday during lunch, and just sell some hot dogs. It’ll take care of your overhead.”
To Shelli, it was as if a light bulb had gone off.
“When he said it, it was an aha moment,” she recalled. “It was like the Lord said to me, ‘That’s the voice of wisdom. Listen to him.’ And out of my mouth, I said, ‘Yes, that’s what I’m gonna do’.”
The space used to be a Hertz Car Rental office. Her original idea was to turn the garage area into a walk-up lunch counter. But she realized that building a kitchen would be too daunting. She needed a better plan.
“No joke, like two weeks later, the adjacent space came available,” Shelli recalled.
The landlord asked Shelli if she knew anybody looking for a restaurant. He gave her a tour, and when he opened the doors to the kitchen, she realized that everything she needed was there.
“He said, ‘I think that space will work better for you than trying to turn that back space into a kitchen. Pray about it and let me know by Friday’,” Shelli recalled. “So that Friday we reached out to each other, and I said, ‘I’m gonna get it.’ He said, ‘Okay, I’ll meet you there on Monday and give you the key’.”
Shelli got the keys on August 23, 2023. Then panic set in.
“I had a oh my God, what did I just get myself into moment,” Shelli recalled.
Shelli realized that with the expanded space and overhead, she couldn’t just sell regular hot dogs. She had to offer premium, gourmet dogs. She dusted off her mother’s secret chili recipe and got creative. Since she considered herself to be a rebel, she decided to name the restaurant Rebel Dogs.
“When we opened, we only had three hot dogs on the menu,” Shelli said. “We opened up with the Carolina Classic, the Jalapeno Popper, and the Pimento Chili Cheese Dog.”
The Carolina Classic features coleslaw. The Jalepeno Popper, hot and spicy, is what Shelli calls her “experience dog.” And the Pimento Chili Cheese Dog is a southern classic.
Rebel Dogs opened on November 13, 2023. In their first six months of being open, Rebel Dogs was nominated by Free Times for the Best of Columbia’s Best Hot Dog.
“In August, they announced that we won,” Shelli said. “So within our first year, we won Best Hot Dog in Columbia. So that was amazing.”
Shelli continued to add gourmet hot dogs to the menu. The
next item she offered was the Cowboy Grub Dog.
“When we added in the Cowboy Grub, people went crazy,” Shelli recalled. “It has barbecue sauce, diced onions, baked beans, bacon and crispy fried onion straws. That hot dog is a meal all by itself.”
Other new menu items include the Mac & Cheese Dog, the Nacho Dog and The Reuben.
“The Nacho Dog has literally everything you would get on nachos on a hot dog,” Shelli said. “We added in the Reuben, because a lot of people like sauerkraut. I challenged my mom to create our own Reuben sauce using ingredients that we already had. She did that, and it is delicious.”
The latest het dog on the menu is the Backyard Barbecue. It has barbecue sauce, diced onions pulled pork and coleslaw. Shelli was stunned by her customers’ reaction to that one.
“There was a day where people were literally in here paying it forward with just that hot dog,” Shelli says. “One guy tried it, and it blew his mind. So another guy came in and he was going to get the $ 2 dog. The first guy said, ‘Sir, can I buy you one, just so you can experience what I experienced?’ The second guy sat down and ate it, and he could not stop talking about it. Then a lady came in and he said, ‘Ma’am, somebody bought me one, and I want you to experience what I had. Can I buy you one?’ It was just so funny to see how much they liked it.
They were paying it forward with a hot dog.”
Shelli said that Rebel Dogs has several other hot dogs they plan to add to the menu over the next few months. She wants to have something for everyone
“Our main hot dog is 100% beef,” Shelli said. “We also have turkey for those who don’t eat beef, and we also have a vegan, plant-based hot dog. We have gluten free buns, and we have carb friendly, low-carb friendly keto buns as well. We pride ourselves on being all-inclusive. There is something for everybody.”
On Tuesdays, customers can get chili cheese dogs for $2 each. Rebel Dogs also offers pop-up vending and catering services.
“So far, our largest catering order has been around 200, We can do more,” Shelli said. “You can place your catering order online. If it needs to be customized, you can email me. When you order your food online, it’s ready to go when you get here. We try to make it easy for everybody.”
For people looking to host an event, Rebel Dogs has an event space that can accommodate groups as large as 40 people.
Shelli says that her longterm plans are to expand Rebel Dogs to new locations. Currently, Rebel Dogs is located at 508 Gervais Street in The Vista. It is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. – 7 \mathrm { p. m } . Customers can order online at www.RebelDogs.co or walk in.
