Ballparks, backyard barbecues, boiled and chopped up on children’s dinner plates next to a dollop of ketchup–hot dogs are ubiquitous summertime fare, though often underappreciated. Their full potential has been realized only by a select few, and while Chicago dogs, Coney Island dogs, and Seattle dogs are classic iterations on the tube meat theme, it’s our opinion that the hot dog reached its full potential as Cobra Dogs. Cobra Dogs became a snowboarding institution during the aughts, when Trail Grove parked his ketchup red and mustard yellow food truck next to the High Cascade dodgeball court. For years, Cobra Dogs supplied the most sought-after after-riding sustenance to the snowboarding community, slanging Cheddacondas and All-Beef Boas to uber-pros, grommet campers, industry desk jockies, and everyone in between. In addition to the quality meats and variety of toppings, the staff was what made Cobra Dogs so special. Matty Mo, Wiz aka Alex Sherman, Lauren Rudin, Ted Borland, Nirvana Ortanez, Ben Bilodeau–the list of influential dog makers goes on. Of course, Spencer Schubert is a longtime favorite staffer who spent summers in the truck, and now, Spenny, alongside Derrek Lever and Wiz, have reignited the flame (literally, they’re grilling some of the dogs, now!) and brought Cobra Dogs back. The truck has been serving up Corbra-style goodness down at the High Cascade campus this summer, so Mark Clavin caught up with Spencer to hear what’s bun going on with the and the Cobra Dogs crew. – Mary T. Walsh

MC: First off, congrats!
Spencer Schubert: Thank you, we’re are hyped to be back 

How did the idea to bring Cobra Dogs back come about?
It all happened really naturally. Derrek [Lever] bought a food truck to try a different venture, and at the time, I was talking with him about possibly being involved. As that original idea didn’t quite pan out, Derrek was looking at this red food truck with red aprons and said what about Cobra Dogs? He asked me because I used to work for Cobra Dogs, and I told him to ask Wiz [Alex “Littlest” Sherman] because he was the one who hired me originally. Wiz was down, I was down, and Derrek was too, so we all went in together. We worked out a deal with Trail (Cory) Grove, which was went great, because he trusted us to carry on the name and the legacy of the brand.

How long has it been in the works?
We all went in on it together last spring, but because of COVID, we decided to wait until this summer.

Who is on the new crew?
Derrek Lever, Alex Sherman (Wiz), and myself.

Who on the crew would win a hot dog eating contest?
I’m working on bulking up, so I’d say me. 

Did we see a Bahn Mi option? New offerings?
Yes the Bun Me! We have that and our elotè dog called the Corn onda Cobra! We now also offer vegan cream cheese, vegan Cobra Sauce, and a GF bun. 

Any secret menu items we should know about?
I guess the secret is out. We have some things from our original menu like bacon bits (vegan) and celery salt. Maybe a few others….

Who got the first dog?
Ever? Original was [Ryan] Runke. He was our first purchase this year, but the first actual dog was a camper at High Cascade.