Hot Dog Replicas for a Fast Food Bar
Location: Santa Ponsa, Mallorca, Spain
Client Overview
Mike’s Wurstbude serves a German-style menu of hot dogs, currywurst and bratwurst, and every hot dog is also available in a vegetarian version. Orders are taken at a counter that opens onto a covered terrace, and the whole menu is written on chalkboards.
The Challenge
The owner takes pride in the size of his hot dogs, but the chalkboard menu shows only names and prices, and a passer-by cannot tell how large a portion is. Size is what sets the bar apart from its competitors, so it had to be visible before the order. The task was to show passers-by, in life size, what they get for the price on the board, so that the decision to buy comes easier.
Hot Dog Replicas Matched to the Client's Buns and Assembly
The replicas are life-size, 21.5 cm long: showing the real portion is a basic tool of fast food marketing. Making the mold requires an original bun. Buns of exactly this shape are not sold in Japan, so Nippon Dom found the closest match to the dimensions the client sent. From the top of a finished hot dog it is impossible to see what lies underneath, so the client photographed each layer as it went on. The craftsmen reproduced every layer in silicone in the same order, starting with the sauce lines inside the bun, so the replicas match the real hot dogs layer by layer.
Result
The replicas now stand on three shelves of a glass column at the entrance, visible from the pavement, each next to a chalkboard sign with the dish name. The owner says they give the bar a very good look. The menu is wider, but three classic hot dogs were enough to show how large the portions are. The column has no lighting of its own; the workshop recommended a directional light for each shelf, an approach described in the article on restaurant window display lighting. Currywurst, bratwurst and the seasonal pulled pork hot dog are still presented only in text, and replicas of them would turn the column into a more abundant food display.
Client Review
Yes they are amazing. Its a very good Optik for my Restaurant… Thank you and I Hope that was not my Last Order
Owner of Mike’s Wurstbude