Wienerschnitzel is an American fast-food chain founded in 1961 (as “Der Wienerschnitzel”) that specializes in hot dogs, also known as the World’s Largest Hot Dog Chain. Wienerschnitzel locations are found predominantly in California and Texas, though others are located in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Washington. Outside the 50 states, there is a store located in Guam and one in Panama.
The first Wienerschnitzel was founded by former Taco Bell employee John Galardi (1938-2013). When Galardi came to California at the age of 19, he landed his first job 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. At one point, Bell borrowed $6,000 from Galardi but was unable to pay the loan back. He offered to sell the store to Galardi for $12,000. Galardi borrowed some money from his parents, laid off all of the employees at the restaurant and worked alone, and eventually secured enough money to purchase the store.
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 man up on the offer, but to sell another kind of food. Galardi decided to sell hot dogs since “nobody else was in hot dogs.” The first location was opened in 196 as a hot-dog stand at 900 West Pacific Coast Highway, east of Figueroa Street, in the Los Angeles community of Wilmington.
The chain changed its name to “Wienerschnitzel” in 1977, though many franchises retained the older name on their restaurants and many older customers still refer to the chain as “Der Wienerschnitzel”. The restaurant paid homage to its original name in its 2009 marketing slogan, “DERlicious”.
The chain is recognizable by the A-frame-style roofs of its older restaurants, similar to the original structures used by IHOP, Tastee-Freez, Nickerson Farms, and Whataburger. Structures that have been converted from Wienerschnitzels into other restaurants often retain the distinctive architecture. The chain’s advertising mascot is an anthropomorphized hot dog known as The Delicious One, who runs from people who want to eat him.
According to en.wikipedia.org. Source of photo: internet
