Wienerschnitzel has an intentionally silly name, but it’s been serious about hot dogs for 60 years.
Founder John Galardi opened the first restaurant on July 3, 1961, in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Wilmington, according to a plaque in the restaurant, which still stands on the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Gulf Avenue.
The Irvine-based company, which calls itself the world’s largest hot dog chain, franchises 330 restaurants in 10 states and is pushing to expand in the Midwest and Oregon.
Wienerschnitzel was unique from the beginning and strives to remain so, according to chief marketing officer Doug Doug Koegeboehn.
“We try to provide food that’s not like everybody else’s. It’s always a little bit different,” he said in a phone interview.
Here are some highlights about Wienerschnitzel for its 60th anniversary.
Its founder learned the business from Taco Bell’s founder
Galardi had a head for business and kept a meticulously organized desk, according to a 2018 biography written by family members. It’s called “Drive-Thru Life,” and it’s offered for free download on the Wienerschnitzel website.
Galardi was born in Missouri in 1938. His family moved to Pasadena when he was 19. Fast food pioneer Glen Bell, then owner of a small chain called Taco Tia, had a restaurant on Colorado Boulevard and took him under his wing. Bell would go on to found Taco Bell in 1962.
Eager to open his own business, Galardi leased the land in Wilmington from Bell to open his own eatery. He got into the hot dog business because Bell didn’t want him to sell tacos.
His business grew into the Galardi Group, began stepping away from the business in the 1970s but remained chairman of the board until his death at 75 in 2013.
Former wife Cindy Galardi Culpepper took over and remains chairman. His son J.R. Galardi is president.
The name was silly from the start
As related in “Drive-Thru Life,” Galardi got the idea from Bell’s wife Marty, who had run across a recipe for Wiener schnitzel in a cookbook.
Galardi adopted the word, even though Wiener schnitzel is breaded veal cutlet, which he did not serve. Most of his friends thought it was a terrible idea, but he thought the name would stick in people’s minds.
The chain was called Der Wienerschnitzel until 1978, when it dropped “Der.” According to “Drive-Thru Life,” the change was made at the request of graphic designer Saul Bass, who had been hired to create a new logo for the brand, a big red “W.”
Bass is legendary in Hollywood for creating opening credits for movies like Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho.”
Drive-thru customers literally drove through the buildings
The first Der Wienerschnitzel restaurant with an A-frame design was the third in the chain, opening in Compton in 1962.
Those early Wienerschnitzels were known for their steep, red-tile roofs and drive-thrus that went right through the building. Customers ordered on an intercom and picked up their food from a window to the kitchen on the driver’s side of the car. The other side of the building was used for storage.
The design was by Robert McKay, who created the hacienda look of early Taco Bells.
One of those old-school drive-thrus is briefly seen in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Quentin Tarantino’s 2018 film set in 1960s Southern California. The location was a former Wienerschnitzel at 1910 W Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach, according to Film Oblivion, a website devoted to movie and TV shoots. But the building now houses a taquería.
Design changed to buildings with indoor seating in the mid-1970s, but in 2015 Wienerschnitzel introduced a heritage design that suggests an A-frame.
Chili dogs were an instant hit
Hot dogs cost 15 cents when Der Wienerschnitzel opened. Chili dogs were on the menu from day one, as were sauerkraut and mustard dogs. Soft drinks were 10 cents. After opening, Galardi added fries and the Polish Sandwich, a premium item for 30 cents.
Corn dogs were added to the menu in 1965. Hamburgers were added in 1977.
In the early 2000s, the Galardi Group acquired Tastee Freez, a brand specializing in ice cream. Many Wienerschitzel locations serve the Tastee Freez menu. “It’s given us a quality dessert,” said Koegeboehn.
In 2017, Wienerschnitzel decided to live up to its name by serving schnitzel sandwiches for a limited time. The sandwiches featured chicken with a potato chip breading.
Wienerschnitzel now sells its chili sauce in-store in 15-ounce cans for $5.
Disney’s composers wrote a “Wienerschnitzel” song
Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, brothers who wrote the theme for Disneyland’s It’s a Small World,” the score for “Mary Poppins” and songs for many other Walt Disney projects, supplied Der Wienerschnitzel with a 1960s jingle that was included as a DVD extra in “The Boys: The Sherman Brothers Story,” a 2009 documentary.
Wienerschnitzel is a brand on the run
The chain’s 1970s mascot, Der Wiener Dog, was a dachshund in a yellow cape. He was replaced by The Delicious One, or TDO, an animated hot dog being chased by ravenous fans.
Dachshund races, called the Wienerschnitzel Wiener Nationals, have been a part of the chain’s culture, but the most recent race was in 2019, before the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Information: wienerschnitzel.com
