From hot dog hotspot to hot food on wheels: Former Wuddup Dog owner shifts to food truck

A Cambridge man had to give up his hot dog shop, but has found a new way to feed his entrepreneurial spirit. CTV’s Spencer Turcotte explains.

It’s a new beginning for the former owner of Cambridge diner ‘Wuddup Dog.’

It was a fixture in the Preston neighbourhood, but Todd Johns has since shifted from operating a hot dog hotspot to serving up hot food on wheels – a food truck operation called Doc MacCheesey.

Three years ago, Johns was forced to choose between his business and his health.

“In 2022, I got diagnosed with stage four kidney failure. I also lost my vision. I’m a single father of an eight-year-old girl that I’ve got full custody of. So I had to make a hard decision – do I want to keep working and put my health at risk or do I want to shut it down and spend time with my daughter?” Johns said.

That decision was made for him after he had a diabetic seizure at work.

Later that year, he set up a temporary food truck outside of Rhythm and Brews in Cambridge.

But for the last three years, he’s had to turn his attention to himself.

“My kidneys are operating at three per cent, I’m at risk of losing my right leg from a diabetic foot ulcer,” said Johns, listing some of the complications he’s faced. “For a few years it was like I was looking through wax paper and I forgot what my daughter looked like.”

Naturally, he ended up spending a lot of time at the Ocular Health Centre at 31 Kingsbury Drive in Kitchener. It’s the spot where his new food truck is parked.

“Dr. Weinstein up here is great. He got me in for a procedure for the retinopathy. We were talking and they don’t have food available or close by. Patients, their caregivers and drivers are here sometimes for three or four hours at a time so I decided to put a food truck in front,” said Johns.

Despite being on dialysis for 10 hours a day, Johns refuses to just sit at home.

“Ever since Bob Barker died, there’s nothing worth watching,” said Johns. “Daytime TV is horrible.”

So rather than try to work out the cost of a new restaurant, he decided ‘the price is right’ for a food truck.

“I figured grilled cheese and mac and cheese go great,” he said. “I started doing garden salads, I got fresh-made doughnuts and bagels every day.”

Johns is stationed on Kingsbury Drive Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and he does deliveries too. On weekends, he’s also available for catering and parties.

Given his hot dog history with Wuddup Dog, you may be wondering how he settled on the name Doc MacCheesey.

“Wiener Man was taken,” said Johns, chuckling, adding that it is also outside of a medical centre.