Wienerschnitzel is an American fast-food chain founded in 1961 as "Der Wienerschnitzel" that specializes in hot dogs, but is currently expanding to other unique items (e.g., panini sandwiches). Wienerschnitzel locations are almost entirely limited to California, Texas, and the Southwest. The chain's advertising mascot is a hot dog that runs from people who want to eat him. The chain is known for the striking shape of its restaurants with their tall and steeply pitched roofs, similar to the original distinctive structures used by IHOP and Whataburger. Structures that have been converted from Wienerschnitzels to other restaurants are easy to spot since their architecture is so conspicuous. Wienerschnitzel's most buzz-worthy campaign comes from its sponsorship of the tongue-in-cheek Wiener Nationals, the de facto national dachshund racing championship series for the United States. The first Wienerschnitzel was opened by John Galardi in 1961, at a hot dog stand along Pacific Coast Highway east of Figueroa Street in the Los Angeles community of Wilmington. This location is still in operation as of today. It is also interesting to note that a handful of Wienerschnitzels were converted to The Original Hamburger Stand restaurants in the Denver area and several other Western cities in the late 1980s by the founder, John Galardi. Wienerschnitzels now sell Tastee-Freez ice cream, a brand also owned by Galardi. Wienerschnitzel does not actually serve Wiener Schnitzel, to the occasional confusion or amusement of native Germans.
Etymology
"Der Wienerschnitzel" is a famous example of incorrect use of German by native English speakers. The expression der Wienerschnitzel is German—however the correct article to use in this case is the neuter form das, not the masculine der. This is true for both the actual food (das Schnitzel) and the restaurant itself (das Restaurant, das Lokal), though in the genitive plural, the article does change to "der": Das Restaurant der Wienerschnitzel would be grammatically correct though at least awkward; it literally translates to "the Wiener Schnitzels' restaurant". Strictly put, Wienerschnitzel might also be seen as incorrect, as the term is a two-word expression in German, written in one word only by the uneducated or by wags suggesting natives of Vienna (Wiener) having been processed to Schnitzel. Thus, Das Wiener Schnitzel would have been correct usage. In addition to these linguistic flaws, Wiener Schnitzel actually means "breaded veal cutlet, Vienna style", which the restaurant chain does not sell. The name probably came from a mistaken belief that Wiener Schnitzel meant "Wiener sausage". The chain changed its name to "Wienerschnitzel" (sans article) in 1977, though many franchises retained the older name on their restaurants. Also, some older customers still refer to the chain as "Der Wienerschnitzel". The etymology for this chain began as such:
"Galardi started his career in the fast-food business at age 12 as a soda jerk in Missouri. With his family he came to California at age 19 and, as fate would have it, got his first job from Glen Bell Jr., owner of Taco Bell.
'I went over and enrolled in Pasadena Junior College. I walked across the street and a guy was hosing the lot,' Galardi recalled. 'I said, 'Do you need any help?' Bell said he did and offered him a part-time job at 50 cents an hour. From this association, Galardi moved on to manage Bell's commissary at $150 a week and then into a partnership agreement with Bell to run a poor producing taco store.
Working two shifts, with his ex-wife working three part-time jobs, Galardi managed to save $6,000. Meanwhile, Bell was having financial problems and asked Galardi to loan him the $6,000. Bell was unable to pay back the loan in three months and instead offered to sell Galardi the store for $12,000 cash.
'So my folks borrowed $2,000 from Household Finance on their furniture, I let everybody go and I worked 30 days to get the other thousands and I paid $12,000 for a little taco store in Long Beach. That's how I got into the ownership position,' he said.
The next breakthrough came a couple years later when Galardi was approached by a man who wanted to build the hard-working Galardi a store on Pacific Coast Highway in Wilmington. It was next to one of Bell's taco stores.
Bell told Galardi to take the deal and sell something other than tacos. 'So I came up with hot dogs,' Galardi said. 'Nobody else was in hot dogs and Glen's wife named the company. I was at dinner one night at their house and Bell's wife was looking at a cookbook and said you ought to call it wienerschnitzel. I told my wife going home nobody in their right mind would call a company wienerschnitzel. Three days later, I said, 'Hell, it's better than John's Hot Dogs.'" (Orange County Business Journal Wienerschnitzel's John Galardi - No Ordinary Hot Dog. March 30, 1987)
Slogans
- Pushing the Boundaries of Taste (2006-current)
- Chili Dog Diet (2005-2006)
- America's Most Wanted Hot Dog
- Everybody loves a wiener.
- The world's largest hot dog chain.
- The world's largest wieners!
- Weiner dude attitude!
- Hamburgers and hot dogs; it's all together now (1979)
- Just thinkin about those hot dogs makes me hungry! (1970s)
