Press Release

Multi-unit franchise owners opens his 14th Wienerschnitzel in the Lonestar State

IRVINE, Calif. (April 22, 2019) – A lower initial investment and faster ROI. A more focused menu resulting in reduced food costs. And a unique concept that blends well with the usual QSR portfolio suspects of hamburgers, pizza, chicken, sandwiches and Mexican.

These are the main reasons given by investors for buying into the Wienerschnitzel family – especially the growing number of franchisees owning more than one Wienerschnitzel franchise or choosing to add the hot dog brand to their existing restaurant portfolios.

“It’s no secret that Wienerschnitzel is seeing new investor interest thanks to an aggressive incentive plan that shortens the ROI timeline with some of the lowest franchise, development, and food costs in the industry,” said Ted Milburn, Wienerschnitzel’s director of franchise development. “But no one seems to appreciate our more streamlined approach more than the owners of other fast-food concepts who can directly compare the difference.”

Milburn cites multi-unit Wienerschnitzel owner Tahir Salim as indicative of the trend. A member of the Wienerschnitzel franchisee family since 2000, Salim debuted his 14th Wienerschnitzel in Amarillo, Texas, on April 16th, 2019. He also becomes one of the first franchisees nationally to debut Wienerschnitzel’s free-standing Heritage ‘Plus’ prototype concept, which blends indoor, outdoor and drive-thru dining with a striking retro design inspired by the iconic yellow A-frames of the past.

“I’m honored to open this new revolutionary Heritage concept in Amarillo more than five decades after the brand’s first Texas restaurant opened here in 1968,” said Salim, who also owns and operates other national QSR concepts. “Given Wienerschnitzel’s deep roots in Amarillo and the community’s long support for the brand, it’s a fitting opportunity for success.”

Like most Wienerschnitzel franchisees, Salim was originally attracted to the brand’s low development and operating costs and unique, “craveable “ menu that stands out from the competition. “Wienerschnitzel’s low cost of entry made the most sense for me back in 2000 when I was just starting out and didn’t have a lot of capital. Now, almost 20 years later, it’s still the best choice for me – and my one Wienerschnitzel restaurant has grown into a network of 14 in California and Texas.”

“Everything about the brand – from the smaller footprint to the highly focused menu that minimizes food, paper and other operating costs – has been streamlined for success,” said Salim. “When I compare Wienerschnitzel to the other, more traditional QSR concepts I own, there really is no comparison from an ease-of-operation standpoint. Hot dogs and chili dogs are king!”

To incentivize multi-unit operators like Salim to add Wienerschnitzel to their portfolios, Wienerschnitzel launched an aggressive incentive program in January to allow 20 franchisees to pay a heavily discounted, one-time franchise fee of just $5,000 – reduced from the normal fee of $32,000 – and a record-low 1% royalty fee for the first three years in business. To qualify for the reduced royalties, investors need to start construction of their new Wienerschnitzel restaurant within 18 months of signing their agreement and meet other obligations.

Wienerschnitzel is targeting expansion in select U.S. markets, with an emphasis in the western U.S., Midwest and Southern states. Single, three-unit, and larger Area Representative licenses granting exclusivity for entire markets are available.

About Wienerschnitzel

Founded by John Galardi in 1961 with a single hot dog stand in Wilmington, Calif., Wienerschnitzel is one of the real pioneers of the quick-service food industry. The World’s Largest Hot Dog Chain now serves more than 120 million hot dogs annually – and fueled by a mission of “Serving Food to Serve Others,” also gives back a percentage of profits to its charitable partners. Based in Irvine, Calif., Wienerschnitzel operates or franchises 340 restaurants in 11 states. It is part of the Galardi Group, which is also the parent company of Hamburger Stand and Tastee-Freez LLC.