The famous 27-foot-long hot dog on wheels popped up in Tyler on Friday when it caused “miles of smiles” around town. The Oscar Mayer Wienermobil or “Lambourgweenie” will be shown in the region all weekend, while its pilots Cold Cuts Chloe and Barb BQ distribute Oscar Mayer’s classic Viennese pipes and “I’ve seen it” Wienermobil stickers.
Although the public is not allowed to enter the Wienermobil, the outside is just as much fun as the inside. Through the Lambourgweenie door come six ketchup and mustard seats, each with their own meat belt, blue sky on the ceiling, a large cupboard in the back, a flat screen TV and two front seats for the drivers Barb Heidkamp and Chloe Kersh, including a shot of bread roll seat for the copilot.
There are six Wienermobil vehicles on the road, each with its own personality, but only Yummy will visit the Tyler / Kilgore area. Yummy is a 2017 model that comes off the grill and roams the hot dog highways.
Heidkamp and Kersh attend Hotdog High, a two-week training program where the girls met each of their co-pilots, in this case each other. They learned how to drive a vehicle, got to know the brand and what it’s like to be a hot dogger.
After the Lambourgweenie has received the keys to the Wienermobil, he sets off for a year, where the girls plan every event they attend. Every week the Wienermobil visits a city where it attends local events, nursing homes, birthday parties, farmers’ markets and festivals.
“It’s really cool, a lot of our consumers have a moment that I remember when they were a little kid or when they saw the Wienermobile for the first time and they come up to us and can’t wait to see it to share with them and we love it when people tell us these stories or bring us an old pipe. The Wienermobil has been around for so long and Oscar Meyer is really part of people’s families. So it’s very cool to continue this legacy and to be the Viennese mobile driver, ”said Heidkamp.
Yummy’s pilots said they also learn word games at Hot Dog High. If they had to write a number on it, the girls guess there are around 25 word games to keep up with.
Apart from puns and spectacles, Oscar Meyer’s focus with the Wienermobil is on public relations and marketing. However, the hotdoggers enjoy the feel-good side of branding.
“In my first week of work, the last half, my co-pilot and I had the honor of going to a celebration of life for a 4-year-old boy who loved hot dogs and the Viennese mobile. So it’s your first week on the job, you’re driving that giant hot dog and they are asking you to be part of this really important moment in a family you don’t know, ”Kersh said.
Kersh and her co-pilot went to the event where she said there was so much love and so much joy. The family was driven in the Wienermobile, and at the end of the journey Landon, the 4-year-old’s mother, said: “He is here. He’s here with us in the Wienermobile. “
“I’ll never get over it. It was wonderful. I will never forget that. It was really an honor to be there and meet the people who loved him so much and still love him. I was part of a very important day and that’s all because people love this thing and bring them joy and happiness and just help them get through the day and that’s what I was there for that day, ”Kersh said.
The weinermobile will be in Walmart on Friday from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the 450 S SE Loop 323 in Tyler. Then it will be in Walmart on 6801 S Broadway Ave in Tyler from 4pm to 7pm
On Saturday, the weinermobile will visit the Kilgore Cruise Night and Car Show at 107 N. Kilgore St. from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday it’s 12pm to 3pm at Walmart at 3820 TX-64 in Tyler, and then from 4pm to 7pm at Walmart at 5050 Troup Hwy
To keep up with Heidkamp and Kersh’s journey, follow their Instagram @dogdayswithbarbbq and @coldcutschloe.
