Heartbreaking photo of Oklahoma business owner standing in empty restaurant and looking sadly out the window for customers goes viral – and brings in a week’s worth of business in just one day
- Customer Nick Chappell posted a photo of Scott Hosek, owner of Spirals Hot Dogs & More, that went viral on December 20
- The Norman, Oklahoma company posted one-week sales on Dec. 21
- Hosek announced that Spirals Hot Dogs & More named a menu item in honor of Chappell on December 29
A viral photo helped business owner Scott Hosek get a big boost at his hot dog restaurant in Norman, Oklahoma.
One of Hosek's clients, Nick Chappell, posted a Facebook message on Dec. 20 stating a picture of Hosek standing in the doorway of Spirals Hot Dogs & More.
“He was standing here waiting for the customers to come in,” Chappell, who enjoys a hot dog every week with one of his colleagues, wrote in the caption of the photo.
The photo quickly went viral and Spirals Hot Dogs & More generated a week's worth of sales in one day on December 21.
Hosek showed his gratitude for Chappell's actions on the restaurant's Instagram, announcing that the restaurant was naming a food item “in his honor.”
A Facebook post made by Nick Chappell on December 20 recommending the Spirals Hot Dogs & More restaurant generated a week's worth of sales in one day on December 21
Chappell posted three photos on Facebook, including restaurant owner Scott Hosek “waiting for his customers”
Hosek's restaurant received a lot of publicity thanks to Chappell's Facebook post, which was shared more than 2,000 times
Spirals Hot Dogs & More is a family business that offers meals such as the baillio bowl – beef frank, Polish sausage and a hot link with white cheddar sauce. grated cheddar cheese and bacon.
Hosek told KOCO 5 News that every food item offered at his family restaurant has “a family signature.”
“Every hot dog is named after my family,” he told KOCO 5 journalist Kolby Terrell.
According to KOCO 5 News, sales of Spirals Hot Dogs & More have been up and down for four years.
The sudden increase in business became “a roller coaster ride” for Hosek, who has been hosting out-of-town visitors since Chappell's photo went viral.
“Some people on Facebook told us they're from Colorado, East Texas or something like that,” Hosek told KOCO 5.
“It definitely makes you a social media advocate,” he added.
Spirals Hot Dogs & More opened a second location in Oklahoma City last June, but closed permanently four months later after Hosek suffered a stroke.
Spirals Hot Dogs & More is a family-owned business known for a variety of food items named after Hosek's family members
A second Spiral's Hot Dogs & More location opened last June in Oklahoma City, but closed in October after Hosek suffered a stroke
Chappell, an Oklahoma Army National Guardsman, received a certificate and a menu item named in his honor on Dec. 29.
He was allowed to call the food item whatever he wanted, and he decided to call a hot link sandwich with bacon, cream cheese and jalapeños The Thunderbird.
“He's such a humble guy, he named the hot dog not just for himself, but for his unit. It doesn't get more beneficial than that,” Scott wrote a photo caption theirs.