# Wienerschnitzel

Wienerschnitzel is an American fast food chain that specializes in hot dogs and other food products. The brand was founded in 1961 by former Taco Bell employee John Galardi and originally named Der Wienerschnitzel. Despite the name, the company does not ordinarily sell Wiener schnitzel, doing so once as a promotion. 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. Outside the United States, there are stores located in Ecuador.
The chain is most notable for the A-frame roofs of its older restaurants, similar to the original structures used by IHOP, Tastee-Freez, Nickerson Farms, and Whataburger. The chain's advertising mascot is an anthropomorphized hot dog known as the Delicious One.
Wienerschnitzel sponsors the Wiener Nationals, the de facto national dachshund racing championship series in the United States.

## Etymology

The word das Wienerschnitzel is German, and like Jägerschnitzel and Zigeunerschnitzel, was spelled as one word before the spelling reform of 1996. The restaurant's name is a portmanteau of Wiener and Schnitzel, meaning "Viennese" and "cutlet" respectively.
In American English, wiener is a colloquial name for a hot dog, which is sometimes called Wiener Würstchen ("little Viennese sausage") in German. The specific phrase Wiener Schnitzel denotes a "Viennese breaded veal cutlet", something the restaurant chain has served briefly as a limited menu item in 2017.
The chain dropped the (in German wrong) "Der" from its name, shortening it to Wienerschnitzel in 1977, though many franchises have retained the older name on their restaurants. The restaurant paid homage to its original name in its 2009 marketing slogan, using the word "DERlicious".

## History

The first Wienerschnitzel was founded by former Taco Bell employee John Galardi. When Galardi came to California at the age of 19, his first job was from Glen 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 a partnership 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 on Pacific Coast Highway in Wilmington, 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 a cookbook. 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.'" The first location was opened in 1961 as a hot-dog stand at 900 West Pacific Coast Highway, east of Figueroa Street, in the Los Angeles community of Wilmington.
In the late 1980s, Galardi converted several stores in Denver, Colorado, and other Western cities into Hamburger Stand restaurants. Wienerschnitzels now sell Tastee-Freez ice cream, another brand owned by Galardi.
Galardi died of pancreatic cancer on April 13, 2013. His ex-wife, Cynthia Galardi-Culpepper, who previously was a silent partner, assumed the role as CEO and chairwoman after his death. She was the corporation's first and only woman in a managerial position, later appearing in reality television series Undercover Boss in 2016.
In 2015, the company signed a franchise agreement with International Food Concepts Inc. to plan and open Wienerschnitzel locations in Panama.

## Logo, slogans, and advertising

Soon after the rebrand, the current Wienerschnitzel logo was created by Saul Bass in 1978.

## The Galardi Group

The Galardi Group, the parent company of Wienerschnitzel, Tastee-Freez, and Original 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, which was cast off in the 1990s. Some Wienerschnitzel locations were replaced with The Original Hamburger Stands.
By 2003, The Galardi Group became a franchisee of Tastee-Freez and made its products available in Wienerschnitzel and Original Hamburger Stand. Due to increased sales, The Galardi Group later bought Tastee-Freez.

## In popular culture

The Descendents' song "Wienerschnitzel" from their 1981 release Fat EP takes the form of a satirical skit in which the band's frontman Milo Aukerman orders a meal from the restaurant.