Spangles (restaurant) facts for kids
 |
|
| Family-owned fast food chain | |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Founded | January 1978 |
| Founder | Dale Steven, and Craig Steven |
| Headquarters |
Wichita, Kansas
,
USA
|
|
Key people
|
Dale Steven (owner), Craig Steven (owner), Rene Steven (director of operations and spokesperson) |
| Products | Fast food, including Gourmet Supreme hamburgers, flatbread pita wraps, Western Burgers, and soft serve desserts |
| Revenue |  $36 Million USD (2021) |
Spangles is a popular fast food restaurant chain. It's owned by a family and has a fun 1950s theme. You can find it in Wichita, Kansas. Spangles serves many tasty items. These include big burgers, flatbread pita wraps, and crispy french fries. They also have onion rings, breakfast sandwiches, and sweet donuts. For dessert, you can enjoy lactose-free milkshakes and other soft-serve treats. The chain is well-known for its unique and sometimes silly TV commercials. Today, Spangles has 27 locations. Most of these are in Kansas, with many in the Wichita area.
How Spangles Started
Spangles began as a restaurant called Coney Island. It was in Wichita, Kansas. Two brothers, Dale and Craig Steven, bought a hot dog place. They changed it into their own restaurant. It opened in January 1978.
Their first restaurant, Coney Island, did very well. But in 1984, the Steven brothers wanted a new name. They felt "Coney Island" was too limiting. They wanted to be able to open more restaurants in other places. So, they held a contest for a new name. People from the city helped choose the name Spangles.
Growing Popularity
In 2004, Spangles opened its first store in Topeka, Kansas. This opening made big news in the restaurant world. Dale Steven, one of the owners, said that weekly sales of over $20,000 are good. Sales between $25,000 and $30,000 are very high. A new Spangles in Wichita usually made about $35,000 in its first week. This was already a strong number.
But the Topeka Spangles was even more popular. In its first week, it made an amazing $97,000 in sales! Cars lined up twice around the building. People were even outside helping direct traffic.
Grand Openings and Fans
On April 25, 2006, a new Spangles opened in Lawrence, Kansas. About 250 people camped out in tents to be there. They waited for the store to open at 6:30 AM. There was even a thunderstorm that day!
Why did they wait? Spangles offered free food for a whole year to the first 100 customers. The very first customer was Andrew Hadel. Some people stayed for 24 hours. They even built small shelters to protect themselves from hail. Spangles was so happy with these fans. They framed pictures of the first 100 customers. These pictures were hung on the restaurant wall.
Marsha Sheahan from the Topeka Chamber of Commerce said Spangles is special. It offers something different from big chains like McDonald's. It's also different from slower, home-style restaurants.
Advertising and Slogans
Spangles saw its business grow even more. This happened when they spent more money on advertising. They advertised a lot on local radio and TV stations. They also used Cox Cable channels.
The company's main slogan is "Spangles, it just tastes better!" They also had a famous slogan for their Gourmet Supreme value pack. It was "$2.99? Are you out of your mind?" This slogan was very catchy.
In May 2008, the price of the Gourmet Supreme value pack changed. It went up to $4.99 because costs were rising. A new Classic Burger became the $2.99 option. Spangles works with a company called digitalBRAND Communications. This company has made their TV commercials for almost 10 years. In 2005, they made 23 commercials. That's almost one new commercial every two weeks!
