The story
The first Dog n Suds was opened in 1953 in Champaign, Illinois by Champaign High School music teachers James Griggs and Don Hamacher. According to Hamacher, he and Griggs asked an architect to draw up plans for a building, and the architect lettered into the sign: Dog n' Suds. When Hamacher asked him about it, the architect replied: "that's what you're selling", and that is the name they went with. The second restaurant was opened after the owners were paid to build another by a wealthy patron and from there the owners decided to create a franchise. A training center was established in Champaign, named "Rover College" after the dog on the restaurant signage. At its peak in 1968, the chain had about 650 restaurants.
In the early 1970s, Griggs sold his interest in the business and a few years later in 1974 the company was sold to Frostie Enterprises who owned the Frostie and Stewart's brands of root beer.
In 1991, the VanDames purchased the Dog n Suds trademark and identity rights. In 2001, they created a new company, TK&C's LLC, to administer licensing rights for the brand.
From Wikipedia’s article on Dog n Suds, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4