January 2016
The Sound STC•Vol.2 Issue 01
The Jane Doe
Rescue Dogs Wants to Help
rescue dogs
By Chris Illich
The Classic
The Hexwitch
Page 14
Like most business ventures, ideas tend to come to mind much earlier than the actual execution. That
couldn’t be more the case for St. Catharines’ newest addition to the downtown core.
KW of Rescue Dogs first had the idea to start a vegan hot dog and street fare cart that donated a
portion of its proceeds to local animal rescues over four years ago, but it didn’t come into fruition until
December of 2015.
“I spent a lot of time developing the idea and I was going to open it last March when I first moved to St. Catharines, but I got a job at Rise Above. I always wanted to work there. I love that place passionately,” KW said.
“I stopped working there in September, and my partner Vic and I decided that it was something that we
really wanted to go forward with. I’m a big organizer and planner, so I kind of put it all together and tried
to finally figure it out. We’re one month into it and it feels very surreal that its actually happening because I
actually started this idea four years ago.”
There were a couple hoops to go through to get the cart up and running. There were the licenses, the
health requirements to be met, the recipes, and perhaps most importantly, the location.
Rescue Dogs is located at a prime spot in downtown St. Catharines, right on the corner of St. Paul St. and
James St. The area is starting to gain traction, with Beechwood Donuts (who bake the Vegan buns for Rescue
Dogs) and boutique shops such as Craft Arts Market and Mindbomb Records just around the corner. Not to
mention that the walkway to the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts is right across the
street, and the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre is just within eyesight.
“It kind of worked out for us because it really is the only spot in downtown that we were able to find a
location. St. Catharines has a limited amount of downtown liscences for Hawker and Peddler’s and it has to
be on private property. This is one of the only spots downtown where you could have a hot dog cart. It’s the
most perfect spot in St. Catharines,” KW said.
Rescue Dogs had their first “Sneak Preview” of their menu at Bella Noella’s on November 29. They prepped
themselves for the event, but had no idea the kind of response that was awaiting them.
“I opened the doors at 4pm and there was about eight people waiting in line and I thought that was really
nice. After we served the first three or four people there was a line out the door and around the corner and it
stayed that way for the first three hours. I can’t even begin to start describing how amazing it was,” said KW.
The event gave Rescue Dogs the opportunity to test-drive their menu. In addition to their classic dog,
Rescue Dogs offers a vegan sloppy Joe made with TVP (textured vegetable protein), their “Sloppy Jane” or
“Jane Doe” which features the TVP and a homemade vegan cheese sauce, and their “Hexwitch”, which is
their take on the tradi