Hailey Lewandowski has always loved dogs and she specifically remembers the first one she fell in love with.

“He was a cute little pug named Mikey, [and] throughout my life, the idea of working with dogs has been something I have wanted to do; I just was never able to figure out exactly in what aspect,” Lewandowski said. “I volunteered with the SPCA and flirted with the idea of going to veterinary school, but quickly realized I wasn’t strong enough to deal with the sad part of the job.”

Lewandowski went on to graduate with a degree in psychology, bartended and then eventually made her back to school to become an x-ray technician, which led to her current career as a mammography technologist.

Even though Lewandowski loved her job, dogs were always in the back of her mind and she kept thinking about how she could work with them. An event she took her dogs to gave her an idea.

“As I was sitting there eating my pizza, my dogs were just staring at me, hoping I would share my food with them (which obviously I did),” Lewandowski said, “but … at [that] moment … I thought ‘I wish there was something here I could get for you two. Why isn’t there? Because there should be. Wait a minute, that’s actually a great idea’. So I had the idea for a while, but never did anything about it.”

One morning last February, Lewandowski said she got up for work, asked herself what she was waiting for and started researching how to open a pet retail business/food truck. The Dog Food Truck was born a month later.

The Dog Food Truck operates out of a renovated vintage camper and travels around and attends events in the Richmond area. The food truck offers appetizers, locally made dog treats and toys.

“I try to keep my inventory as local as possible if I can: the collars and leashes are made here in RVA by my friend Carri who owns Collars by Carri,” Lewandowski said, “and I sell amazing resin key chains/dog tags by another local girl in RVA, Emily, who owns Trash Gremlin Creations. Before I started making my own bandanas, I was having those made locally as well.”

When she’s choosing inventory for her shop, Lewandowski said she looks for items on the fun and unique side and you need a sense of humor when you shop at the food truck. The response has been incredible and she said at every event she attends, people tell her how innovative and genius her idea is.

The pandemic hasn’t affected business much (she opened last June) and though she wasn’t able to attend as many events because of cancellations, Lewandowski said having a mobile business proved to be extremely convenient. Though she’s having fun with her business, working four days a week leaves her exhausted but having Fridays off allows her more time to dedicate to the food truck.

Lewandowski has faced her challenges with starting a new business – she told her now ex-husband she wanted a divorce and they ended up quarantined together the same time she was researching how to open a business – but she said she is thankful because she had become so passionate about it that it kept her focused and helped her get through the months she was living with her ex-husband. The pandemic also threw a wrench in her plans as it was hard to get in touch with people and getting her questions answered was difficult.

On the flip side, her confidence has grown over the last year and it’s been rewarding for her to think about how different her life is now. She eventually hopes to start making her own dog treats, add a few employees and another camper to the roster and have The Dog Food Truck in every major city.

“My biz is so niche and unique and something people don’t realize they need, which is one thing I love about it,” Lewandowski said. “We have so many dog food trucks who sell their dog treats and such, which [is] awesome, but there isn’t an actual mobile retail store that you can come inside to and shop around.”

Lewandowski said this is the happiest and most excited she’s been in a long time, and she has high hopes for the food truck and is excited to see what the future holds.

“[The Dog Food Truck] is the best thing I have ever done for myself. It brings me true and extreme joy to be able to do this and bring happiness to the people and dogs that visit me,” Lewandowski said. “I love that I have figured out exactly the way in which I was meant to be able to express my creative side and, at the … same time, work with dogs.”

For more information and to find out where The Dog Food Truck will be next, check out the official website, Instagram and Facebook.