Jesus gets a free hot dog every weekend. He likes cream cheese, caramelized onions and extra mayo.

Though Daniel Dovinh doesn't know his real name, the Seattle University junior refers to the homeless man as Jesus as a reminder to continue to serve those in need.

A full-time student, Dovinh is also a business owner. His hot dog stand, Mad Dawg, opened last July on Mercer Street and has become a popular place among the Queen Anne community.

Jesus is just one of his many regular customers.

"There's one other place I've picked up a hot dog," said Mike Harper, a frequent Mad Dawg customer and an alumnus of Seattle U. "It's not quite as good."

Surrounded by the bustle of the passing cars and the babble of contented customers, Dovinh takes orders as he makes conversation with the Seattle U students who have come to support him and hang out. The light from the streetlamps and the warmth from the portable heater make the stand a tempting stopping place for a late-night meal.

Dovinh has always liked to cook, but the summer before last he got hooked on cooking hot dogs.

While coaching a youth baseball team, he began working at a hot dog cart owned by the parent of one of his players.

"I just saw how it was run and realized that I could do this and make it my own," Dovinh said.

But turns out starting a hot dog stand involves more than a bag of buns and pack of kosher franks.

Dovinh had to obtain five different licenses. And that's not even counting the one he already had so he could drive to Queen Anne in his dark blue Dodge Ram.

He got the propane fire license from the Seattle Fire Department and the food handlers permit from Seattle King County Public Health. Then he had to get his mobile vending card approved and his registered mobile kitchen inspected by Public Health. To top it off, he needed not one, but two business licenses: one for Washington State and a second for the city of Seattle.

"There's no handbook that says ‘Oh, you want to start a hot dog business,'" Dovinh said.

But if he wanted to, he could probably write it.

After months of preparation, his Mad Dawg hot dog stand opened on the Fourth of July last year. Since then, Dovinh has had what he would call a rewarding experience.

"I'm really proud to serve people good food," he said. "It's a long-term investment in people, it's not just a business adventure."

These first six months might have been rewarding, but they certainly weren't easy.

A junior transfer student at Seattle U, Dovinh is not only balancing school and work but he is also a section leader in the university choir and he is trying to start a cooking club on campus.

Though it's doable, it isn't the ideal schedule.

"I don't go out and party on Friday and Saturday nights because I'm working and feeding the party people," he said. "If anyone wants to hang out on a Wednesday or Thursday night instead of a Friday or Saturday then I'm down."

Hoping to ease up on his work load, Dovinh is currently training a friend that is interested in helping run the stand.

"My goal is by the end of September to have a cart within three blocks of Seattle University," he said.

Meanwhile, his friends are happy to make the short trip to Queen Anne to visit Dovinh and hang out as they enjoy their favorite dog.

"It's a really great product and he has done a really good job growing the business," said Seattle U junior Sarah Lewicki. "So it's really awesome that people keep coming back and [the hot dogs] are really, really delicious."

She generally gets the beef polish dog with cream cheese, onions, barbecue sauce and spicy mayo.

If your mouth began to water while reading that last sentence, you're not alone. According to Dovinh, his hot dogs were once called "iconic" by a customer.

Open 10:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Thursday through Saturday, Dovinh's $5 hot dogs shouldn't be missed.

Dovinh is grateful to everyone who has made the trip to Queen Anne to support him.

"I'm going to bring Mad Dawg Hot Dogs to SU," he said. With cream cheese, we hope.