Hot dog business booming after photo of owner at door goes viral

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Business is booming at an Oklahoma City-area eatery after a photo of the owner looking out the front door went viral.

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Spirals: Hot Dogs & More saw a week’s worth of business in one day just before Christmas.

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It all started when Nick Chappell and a friend drove to suburban Norman for hazmat training classes on Dec. 20.

Chappell said it was tradition that he and his friend eat hot dogs on Wednesdays, so they searched and found Spirals.

They arrived just after 11 a.m. and ordered their food, but noticed business was slow.

Chappell saw the owner standing by the front door and decided to snap a picture so that he could share his experience on social media to get more customers inside.

“If you find yourself in Norman between 11 a.m.-8 p.m., stop in and get a hot dog,” Chappell wrote on Facebook. “They are so sweet and happy to have us. The food was amazing, and the hospitality was off the charts.”

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The post was shared thousands of times and immediately went viral.

“I don’t even know how to put it into words on how I feel about it,” Chappell told Tulsa CBS affiliate KOTV. “It’s more than I ever thought would have happened.”

Spirals owner Scott Hosek said he really appreciated the support from the community after the restaurant was jammed with customers the following day.

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“I was incredibly surprised that many people would get involved that quickly,” Hosek said. “I think we did 120 loaded fries. We might do five or six on a normal day. So that was a pretty explosive experience — just in one food item.”

He was so busy that he barely moved from behind the counter.

“I just know that I got behind the line roughly at 11 a.m. and I never moved until an hour after we closed,” said Hosek, who shared a message to Facebook to show his gratitude.

“So many of you showed up for Spirals in a BIG way today. We’re so thankful,” he wrote.

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“We were not expecting this outpouring today, so we were understaffed, and we know we let a few people down. We hope you’ll come back over the next few weeks to let us make it right.”

The momentum of Chappell’s post continued on Friday, with the eatery packed at noon, KOTV reported.

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