Hot dog king tries rice bowls
Associated Press
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — How did John Galardi celebrate the recent 40th anniversary of Wienerschnitzel?
Associated Press
The founder of the Newport Beach-based hot dog chain, eight years after he dropped out of day-to-day oversight of the nation's biggest frankfurter concept, bought control of Yokohama Rice Bowl, a 10-store Asian fast-food operation based in Arizona.
John Galardi, right, Wienerschnitzel founder, and Dennis Tase, president and CEO, chomp on their product.
"Just something to play with," Galardi, 63, who now lives in Aspen, Colo., said of his newest interest.
Galardi isn't sitting still in "retirement" as owner of the 320-store Wienerschnitzel chain.
He's perhaps the last of the active California fast-food pioneers. He started at age 19, working with Taco Bell founder Glenn Bell. He talks with pride of being the youngster of the band of entrepreneurs that four decades ago tapped into California's car culture with quick-serve vittles — a notion that altered the world's eating habits.
In that era, Galardi says, there wasn't much competition since there was so much fresh business to grab. Open a new store, and other chain owners would show up.
At age 23, when Galardi's chain started in Wilmington, its original name, Der Wienerschnitzel, was conceived by the wife of Glenn Bell.
Help that came even though Galardi was quitting her husband's business to start his own.
While Galardi's fondness for the old days is obvious, he also admits that fast food is better today.
Technology makes staffing more efficient and quality control easier. As for salesmanship, well, in Galardi's early days, "marketing was a grand opening."
He marvels at how In-N-Out thrives with just burgers. He's impressed with Baja Fresh, the upper-crust Mexican concept.
He loves how Starbucks turned coffee into a national phenomenon. Krispy Kreme, he believes, put quality back into the doughnut.
Also, he notes, the largest change is the client base: "Fast food isn't just for poor people anymore."
Face it. The guy's a fast-food junkie. Heck, he also controls a small Colorado burger chain.
His recipe for fast-food triumph is simple: Stay true to one's core theme.
That's why Wienerschnitzel, with all sorts of competition encircling it, is largely a hot dog joint — and will remain just a West Coast hot dog joint.
Yes, experiments are part of the equation. But he'd rather dabble with a Yokohama than Wienerschnitzel's basic formula.
Hey, the guy thinks national success with Asian fast food, something nobody's yet accomplished, must come with a narrow menu.
But he knows he could be wrong. It wouldn't be the first time.
Galardi's enthusiasm for fast food is shown by the relish he seems to have for telling tales of his own flops.
Like attempting to fix a weak store in Los Angeles by offering kosher dogs under the name Kosher Coneys.
Or grabbing the initial California franchise rights to Boston Chicken. Exiting that money-losing concept earned him a $300,000 penalty.
Then there was the brief try at upscale hot dogs, a concept called Wieners. Customers walked in and asked, "Is this Wienerschnitzel?" When told no, they left.
"At least we got the yellow roof," he says, a design that all Wienerschnitzels are adopting.
And perhaps the most painful slip — at least to his wallet: declining a buyout from McDonald's founder Ray Kroc. "I was 27 and too young for the beach," Galardi says.
Worse, he didn't trust the payment: $10 million in McDonald's stock. "That's $800 million today," Galardi says with a smirk.
Still, Galardi's not starving running hot dogs — with burgers and rice bowls on the side.
