Wienerschnitzel targets more non-traditional sites for development

Travelers in West Virginia can soon get themselves a Junkyard Dog.

Wienerschnitzel, the California-based hot-dog chain, is opening two locations in the state as part of a deal with GoMart, a travel plaza and convenience store operator.

GoMart, which operates locations in Virginia, West Virginia, and Ohio, plans to develop additional locations over the next five years. The two locations under development, in Kanawha City and Ghent, West Virginia, will be cobranded with the treat concept Tastee Freez, also owned by Wienerschnitzel.

In addition to taking the hot-dog concept further to the east, the deal continues the brand’s push into non-traditional locations.

Last year, for instance, the franchise opened six locations inside Walmart shops. It has also started going into military bases. The company believes that its concept can work well in such areas, and could give franchisees multiple growth opportunities.

And that could also build on the chain’s development momentum. Wienerschnitzel’s unit count decreased coming out of the pandemic, with unit count decreasing slightly each year from 2020 through 2023. But the brand added five locations last year, and now operates 321 restaurants, according to data from Restaurant Business sibling company Technomic.

A typical location generates more than $1.1 million in average-unit volumes.

“As we continue expanding beyond the traditional restaurant model, partnerships like this allow us to pair the flexibility of our concept with operators that already understand how to serve consumers in high-traffic, convenience-driven environments,” David Winter, chief development officer for Wienerschnitzel, said in a statement. “We see significant potential to build on these two restaurants in the future.”

GoMart is based in Gassaway, West Virginia, and operates travel plazas and convenience stores.

The two restaurants the company is currently developing for Wienerschnitzel will be new construction end-cap locations with drive-thrus. GoMart expects to develop additional locations in the coming years, including conversions of existing space and new construction.