Hot dog! Short Leash owners' Cool Home tells unique story

• The home’s story began in the 1950s, when the simple Ranch house was built in central Phoenix
• Brad and Kat Moore, owners of Short Leash Hot Dogs, bought the house in 2004
• The Moores gutted the home and rebuilt it by doing the projects together

Brad and Kat Moore’s Phoenix house is a lot like their iconic Short Leash brand. Unexpected. Memorable. One-of-a-kind.

It starts with the first step in the front door — onto the floor made of wood rescued from an old Phoenix bowling alley, the ball arrows leading the way. It continues through family heirlooms and collectibles, flea market finds and unusual collections. From the working telephone booth in the office to the vintage pachinko games on the wall to the sawhorse as art, the home gives one reward after another for guests to discover.

And much like the menus at their restaurant or food truck, no matter how unlikely it all seems, everything works so well together.

“Every piece has a story,” Kat Moore said. “People always notice something different and there is always a story about how we ended up with it.”

Simple Ranch house

The home’s story began in the 1950s, when the simple Ranch house was built in a central Phoenix tract development known as North Park Central. The couple bought it in 2004.

This was well before the Moores dreamed up their Short Leash empire — starting with a food truck focused on never-seen-before hot dog combos and growing into a thriving catering and events business, standalone restaurant on Roosevelt Street, and sweet spot with Rollover Doughnuts.

It was well before the couple helped build and lead the food truck revolution in the state.

Back in 2004, all the couple was looking to do was find a home. The tidy house in the then-struggling neighborhood wasn’t exactly what Kat Moore had in mind.

“I thought I wanted a bigger house and was actually disappointed when we first looked,” she said. “I was an interior designer at the time and saw beautiful new homes all day. Brad was very practical and said he wanted to live in a house we could afford no matter what.

“But when I walked in I could see the potential. It has great bones and I like the modern feel,” she said. “We put everything but a bed, TV and clothes in storage, and gutted it.”

Three-year project

Every room needed work and updating, and the project took on a life of its own for three years.

For all the uncertainties along the way, the couple was sure about one thing. They wanted to do the work themselves, often learning on the fly and making sense of things that didn’t make immediate sense. Like how to give well-worn bowling lanes — salvaged from an enormous pile of “free wood” that Brad Moore stumbled on heading to work one day — new life as their own floor.

It was one of many projects that the couple would figure out, leaning on determination, Kat’s design chops and Brad’s knack for all things construction despite his disparate background as a soccer player and banker.

The original three-bedroom, one-bath house was converted into a one bedroom with study and walk-in closet. The smallest bedroom became the enviable closet to accommodate the couple’s love for clothes and shoes.

The couple opened up walls to create more open space in the main living area, and streamlined the hallway by eliminating some of the eight doors. The couple also turned an old shed in the backyard into a home gym.

Tackling together

Through it all, they stayed true to the goal of tackling projects together.

“I love the crooked floor and wacky tile because we put them in. … We laughed, cried and bickered over every color, tile and item, and I love it,” Kat Moore said. “Brad and I have been together 21 years, and this house is 100 percent us.”

Beyond the construction, it’s easy to see the couple’s stamp throughout the house, from furnishings to funky collections.

Some of the most unique pieces in the home come from Kat Moore’s childhood home, including an antique telephone booth that has a working landline. Yes, everyone wants to sit in it and pull the door shut.

But other keepsakes aren’t as obvious, like the framed “No Brakes” note desperately scrawled by Kat’s mother to show to other motorists when the brakes suddenly went out as the family tooled down the road. The note hangs on the bedroom wall among dozens and dozens of other photos and mementos that fit together to tell one long, unfinished story.

And then there are things that could be collecting dust somewhere, like an enormous old matchbook collection. Instead, the matchbooks fill two wall-mounted display cases that show off the jumble of covers.

Old and new

Mixing old and new works seamlessly throughout the house. One of the well-used bowling lanes installed in the hallway, for instance, meets its match with a group of vintage-looking bowling pins.

The end result of it all is a home built for anything, whether relaxing with pups Oliver and Igby, running their business, testing recipes, barbecues or game nights.

“We started our business in this house, planned our life dreams in this house and are very happy in this house,” Kat Moore said. “We just like being here and having our friends here and I cannot imagine ever leaving it!

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