Wienerschnitzel, the world’s largest hot dog franchise, is putting down new roots in Arkansas, with the brand’s first location in the state opening in early June.
 
The first restaurant will be located within the thriving city of Bentonville at, 1530 E Centerton Blvd. Tejas Dogs, based in Texas, is spearheading the initiative with plans to open a total of 20 Wienerschnitzel locations in Arkansas over the next several years. Tejas Dogs already has multiple sites approved, with plans to keep a steady pipeline of new openings across the state over the next five-years.
 
Tejas Dogs is owned by Mike Smith and Alvin Fults, two large scale business investors with operations throughout the country. Brian Shinall serves as the group’s business manager, and brings over 30 years of real estate development and investment experience to the table. His expertise within the restaurant and retail space, combined with being an Arkansas native, has primed Shinall as the ideal candidate to lead the charge for the high-level development plans.
 
“Having grown up in Arkansas, it’s been an amazing experience to be close to my roots while simultaneously bringing a fan-favorite concept like Wienerschnitzel to a new market,” says Shinall. “At its core, Wienerschnitzel is a simple, cost-effective and delicious American food, and that’s why we’re so excited for the Bentonville community to fall in love with this brand just as we have – and not only that, but those low costs and easy operations are exactly what make this concept an amazing opportunity for operators like us. It’s scalable, reliable and growth potential is sky-high.”
 
As the nation’s leading hot dog concept, Wienerschnitzel has forged an impressive path of new growth in recent months. The multi-unit development in Arkansas comes on the heels of the brand launching three unique ghost kitchen locations in California, Texas and Georgia, with an aim to further innovate and better understand key market segments across the country.
 
“Arkansas has been a highly anticipated market for our brand, and it’s amazing to see these plans finally coming to fruition,” says Doug Koegeboehn, Chief Marketing Officer for Galardi Group, the parent company for Wienerschnitzel. “Brian and the Tejas Dogs group are ideal franchisees for our brand. Their experience, combined with their operational expertise, makes them the prime candidates to introduce our brand into a new state like Arkansas. I’m confident that their skillsets will make these locations a major success over the coming years, and I look forward to seeing the first location open soon.”
 
There are 340 franchised Wienerschnitzel locations in operation throughout 10 states, and more than 50 units in various stages of development across the United States and further expansion plans underway internationally. Wienerschnitzel is looking for experienced multi-unit restaurant operators to be a part of its franchise family.