(Image: Dirty Dog)

The spirit of Dirty Dog has passed.

Binyam Wolde, the entrepreneur behind the Dirty Dog food cart business that has included the wiener stand at 11th and Pine that has grown into a core element of the Capitol Hill street scene, died earlier this month. Wolde was 44.

As his business continues, a fundraiser has been set up to help support his family. “Biny was a devoted and loving husband to his wife. He was a fun, patient , and loving father to his two young children- he absolutely adored them. He was the eldest of six siblings who looked to him as mentor and friend,” it reads. “He was generous with all who knew him and our community is devastated that we’ve lost him.”

(Image: Dirty Dog)

Wolde was proud of his path from Addis Ababa to Seattle where he had moved when was 16 and worked to learn english and graduate high school.

He started Dirty Dog in 2010 and grew the business into a ubiquitous part of Seattle’s street food scene as well as staying busy outside sporting events, concerts, and serving the Seattle U kids.

The stand on the backside of Capitol Hill hidden in plain sight Richmark Label facility has been an ever-present element through the corner’s pulses of activity including nightlife crowds and protests.

“Biny’s legacy reminds us that through loving kindness, connection, and a belief in one’s dreams, together we can achieve incredible things,” the company said in a post marking his passing and calling Wolde “the spirit of Dirty Dog.”

You can find Dirty Dog at 1110 E Pine. Learn more at dirtydoghotdog.com.

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