Longtime East Valley barbecue restaurateur Clay Caldwell apparently knows more than smoked meats.
The founder of Waldo’s BBQ and Caldwell County BBQ is opening a hot dog shop called Clay Dawgs on Gilbert Road just north of downtown Gilbert.
The stand-alone building on the northwest corner of Gilbert and Juniper most recently was home to Francisco’s Mexican Food, which closed last summer.
Caldwell, who grew up working on his family’s pig farm near Snowflake, launched Waldo’s in east Mesa in 1993 and sold the restaurant to a partner in 2014.
He then opened Caldwell County on the northwest corner of Power and the 202 in southeast Mesa last August.
Clay Dawgs is expected to open late this summer.
