 Current logo designed bySaul Bass in 1978 | |
 An older A-frame roof Wienerschnitzel restaurant inWhittier, California | |
| Company type | Subsidiary of The Galardi Group |
|---|---|
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Genre | Fast food |
| Founded | Los Angeles,California, U.S. (1961; 64 years ago (1961)) |
| Founder | John Galardi |
| Headquarters | , U.S |
Number of locations | 358 |
Area served | United States |
Key people | Cindy Culpepper (CEO, The Galardi Group) |
| Products | |
| Revenue |  US$341 million (2019)[1] |
Number of employees | 5,000 (2019)[1] |
| Parent | The Galardi Group |
| Website | wienerschnitzel |
Wienerschnitzel is an Americanfast food chain that specializes inhot dogs and other food products. The brand was founded in 1961 by formerTaco Bell employee John Galardi and originally namedDer Wienerschnitzel. Despite the name, the company does not ordinarily sellWiener schnitzel, doing so once as a promotion.[2] Wienerschnitzel locations are found predominantly in California and Texas; others are found in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Nebraska and Washington, as well as the U.S. territory of Guam.[3] Outside the United States, there are stores located in Ecuador.[4]
The chain is most notable for theA-frame roofs of its older restaurants, similar to the original structures used byIHOP,Tastee-Freez,Nickerson Farms, andWhataburger. The chain's advertisingmascot is ananthropomorphized hot dog known as the Delicious One.[5][6]
Wienerschnitzel sponsors theWiener Nationals, thede facto nationaldachshund racing championship series in the United States.[7]
The worddas Wienerschnitzel is German, and likeJägerschnitzel andZigeunerschnitzel, was spelled as one word before thespelling reform of 1996.[8] The restaurant's name is aportmanteau ofWiener andSchnitzel, meaning "Viennese" and "cutlet" respectively.
In American English,wiener is a colloquial name for a hot dog, which is sometimes calledWiener Würstchen ("little Viennese sausage") in German.[9] The specific phraseWiener Schnitzel denotes a "Viennese breadedveal cutlet",[10][11] something the restaurant chain has served briefly as a limited menu item in 2017.[2]
The chain dropped the (in German wrong) "Der" from its name, shortening it toWienerschnitzel in 1977, though many franchises have retained the older name on their restaurants. The restaurant paid homage to its original name in its 2009marketing slogan, using the word "DERlicious".[citation needed]
The first Wienerschnitzel was founded by formerTaco Bell employee John Galardi. When Galardi came to California at the age of 19, his first job was fromGlen Bell, who would go on to later establish Taco Bell in 1962. Bell initially hired him on a part-time basis for 50 cents an hour at a taco store called Taco-Tia. Eventually, Galardi entered into apartnership agreement to run the store. He offered to sell the store to Galardi for $12,000, later amassing enough money to pay.
A couple of years later, a man wanted to recruit Galardi to start his own restaurant at a location onPacific Coast Highway inWilmington, next to one of Bell's taco stores. Bell encouraged him to take the offer, but wanted to have Galaradi sell another kind of food; Galardi decided to sell hot dogs. According to Galardi, his wife came up with the name when looking through acookbook. He was initially skeptical of the name, saying, "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.'"[12] The first location was opened in 1961 as a hot-dog stand at 900 West Pacific Coast Highway, east ofFigueroa Street, in the Los Angeles community of Wilmington.[13]
In the late 1980s, Galardi converted several stores inDenver, Colorado, and otherWestern cities intoHamburger Stand restaurants. Wienerschnitzels now sellTastee-Freez ice cream, another brand owned by Galardi.[13]
Galardi died ofpancreatic cancer on April 13, 2013.[13] His ex-wife, Cynthia Galardi-Culpepper, who previously was asilent partner, assumed the role as CEO and chairwoman after his death.[14] She was the corporation's first and only woman in a managerial position, later appearing in reality television seriesUndercover Boss in 2016.[15]
In 2015, the company signed a franchise agreement with International Food Concepts Inc. to plan and open Wienerschnitzel locations in Panama.[4]
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Soon after the rebrand, the current Wienerschnitzel logo was created bySaul Bass in 1978.[16]
| |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Founded | 1970; 55 years ago (1970) |
| Founder | John Galardi |
| Headquarters | , U.S |
Number of locations | 379 (January 2022) |
Key people | JR Galardi (CEO) |
| Revenue | US$501 million (2021) |
| Owner | Galardi family |
Number of employees | 8,000 (2019) |
| Subsidiaries |
|
| Website | The Galardi Group |
The Galardi Group, theparent company of Wienerschnitzel,Tastee-Freez, andOriginal Hamburger Stand, was formed by John Galardi in 1970.
In 1979, Wienerschnitzel attempted to expand its menus by adding hamburgers. With little success in the 1980s, the company established two chains in 1983, The Original Hamburger Stand and Weldon's Gourmet Hamburgers,[17] which was cast off in the 1990s.[18] Some Wienerschnitzel locations were replaced with The Original Hamburger Stands.
By 2003, The Galardi Group became afranchisee of Tastee-Freez and made its products available in Wienerschnitzel and Original Hamburger Stand.[19] Due to increased sales, The Galardi Group later bought Tastee-Freez.[19][20]
TheDescendents' song "Wienerschnitzel" from their 1981 releaseFat EP takes the form of a satirical skit in which the band's frontmanMilo Aukerman orders a meal from the restaurant.[21]