SeeCalifornia.com

On Sept. 16, 2014 a dedication by the City of Los Angeles declares the first ever Der Wienerschnitzel (still in operation) a Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument. A plaque and ceremony pay homage to its continuous operation since July 3, 1961. Largely intact from its original design, the restaurant epitomizes the drive-thru and walk-up architecture popularized in the 1960s that is strongly associated with Los Angeles car culture. The Wilmington restaurant is a 600 square foot structure, with Wienerschnitzel’s signature drive thru built smack dab in the middle of the building.

John Galardi was 19 years old when he came from Kansas City to Southern California. He worked for Taco Bell founder Glen Bell, at Taco Tia in Pasadena and within a few short years at age 23 he opened the Wilmington restaurant. Building the company from a single hot dog stand to what is now the world’s largest hot dog chain with 350 locations and selling more than 120 million hot dogs annually, his affordable, fast food and  secret-recipe chili has kept fans coming back.  Wienerschnitzel acquired Tastee Freez with shakes, cones and sweets added to the menu.