When Ryan Cairns lost his job in 2009, he decided to take the extra time he had on his hands and put together a business plan.  Instead of getting a new job, he launched his own business instead and Dog & Spuds was born.  Dogs & Spuds was founded upon creating a carnival type atmosphere while serving high quality food.  Ryan uses local suppliers such as Rotella Bread, Hormel hot dogs and Cetaks Sausages and serves food out of a New York style hot dog cart at outdoor events such as fairs, festivals, employee lunches, weddings, parties, tailgates and graduations.  Ryan can also serve other foods upon request.

Tell us a little about your family.
In Lincoln my family consists of me and my “kid”, an 8 year old Welsh Corgi named Tigger.  I grew up in a large family with three brothers and a sister who all live in Kansas.   We are all very close even though we don’t get to see each other much.

What do you see as one of the biggest turning points in your life?
The most influential thing that happened to me as an early teenager was my involvement in the FFA Organization.  By getting to attend the National FFA Convention and see the President of the United States speak in addition to many other prominent people of our time made me realize that even for a small town kid like me, anything was possible.

What is your favorite thing to do on a day off?
Being a fairly new business owner, I don’t get many days off.   If I did get a day to spend however I wanted, the ideal situation would be for me to be visiting a dirt race track that I have never been to watching Sprint Cars or Midgets races and camping out in the parking lot.

What is the most unique or interesting thing about you that most people probably don’t know?
I used to bull ride, race cars, and teach school.  Quite a combination don’t you think?

What is the one goal you would most like to accomplish?
To be able to accomplish my dream of getting my second business venture up and running.  I want to start a Beer Specialty store that specializes in beer and beer related products.

What is your greatest talent that you don’t utilize in your daily work life?
I am an avid homebrewer and I just had one of my beers make it to the final round of the National American Homebrewers Association Competition.

Which talent would you most like to have?
To be able to play the guitar a lot better.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
To not be such a workaholic. But if you love what you do it isn’t work so good luck changing that one!

What is your favorite book or the last good book you read?
I love to read biographies of politicians, business owners and historical figures and people in the racing industry.

What is your favorite TV show?
Hell’s Kitchen

What is your favorite Lincoln restaurant?
I am a major foodie so there is no way I could just choose one restaurant.

If you could have dinner with one famous person from the past or present, who would it be?
Eddie Rickenbacker because he reminds me of myself if I would have grown up in that time period.  To further explain he was a race car driver, WWI Flying Ace, manufactured his own car line, owned Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and went on to start Eastern Airlines.

What is the best way to contact you and Dogs and Spuds?
Call or visit http://www.dogsandspuds.com/.