1961 John N. Galardi opens first “Der Wienerschnitzel” in Wilmington, CA. |
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1962 Galardi conceives of and opens one of the first drive-thru restaurants in America. |
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1968 The immensely successful chain rapidly reaches 200 units. |
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1977 The “Der” is dropped and the name becomes “Wienerschnitzel.” Gothic-style logo is changed to current “W” logo. |
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1983 The Galardi Group expands its holdings to include two other hamburger chains: Weldon’s gourmet hamburgers, and the Original Hamburger Stand chain. |
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1984 Hall of Fame slugger Reggie Jackson becomes Wienerschnitzel spokesman. |
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1991 The company’s “Cop a Wienerdude Attitude” ad campaign is born. The irreverent TV and radio commercials get national attention. |
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1996 A new ad campaign featuring "Hee Haw" star Roy Clarke crooning, “Everybody Loves a Wiener” makes its debut. |
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1999 The first Wienerschnitzel restaurant teams up with an American ice cream favorite, Tastee-Freez. |
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1999 The hunt is on for “America’s Most Wanted Hot Dog - The Delicious One”, as a new ad campaign, is spawned. |
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2000 Wienerschnitzel completes an unprecedented 52 straight months of same store sales and customer count increases. |
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2001 Wienerschnitzel reaches over 300 restaurants in ten states and Guam. |
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2001 Wienerschnitzel celebrates its 40th Anniversary on July 3, 2001, by giving away free chili dogs. |
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October 2002 New TV campaign introduces three new television commercials featuring The Delicious One. |
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May 16th 2003 Galardi Group (the parent company of Wienerschnitzel) acquires Tastee Freeze. |
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