The hot dog can be a contentious food. If you doubt that statement, you have clearly avoided those parts of the internet where people engage in passionate battles over toppings and whether or not a hot dog is, by definition, a sandwich. This week, however, the latest weenie hot topic to fuel a kerfuffle is a t-shirt created by a New Jersey restaurant that specializes in frankfurters.
Weenies, which has maintained a location for three years in Denville, opened a new location on Main Street in Madison, and residents were happy to wrap their mouths around the dogs. They were not, however, jazzed to wrap their minds around the eatery’s uniforms: black t-shirts with the name of the hot dog purveyor at the top and the phrase “Grab Yours Here” with an arrow pointing to their website (and the wearer’s crotch) below.
CBS New York reports residents are taking offense to the shirts and they aren’t remaining silent about their concerns. In an on-camera interview, one woman says the slogan is “almost as vulgar as having a lot of cuss words on it.” Many feel it is inappropriate for children. Others think it goes against the family values of the city.
Co-owner Michael Dey responds by oddly pretending the clear innuendo doesn’t exist.
“It’s just marketing, it’s strictly interpretive,” he states. “You can look at the shirt and see whatever you want to see, it’s what you make of it. We don’t send any kind of particular message with it.”
Dude. It’s a dick joke. You know it’s a dick joke. We know it’s a dick joke. Your wife, who designed the shirts, knows it’s a dick joke. And it’s not a great one. It’s sorta whatever. We are tempted to say that the lack of humor is the most offensive part of the shirt, but there is a bigger issue.
We love a wiener witticism around these parts, but we don’t love making employees wear a shirt as part of their uniform that invites people to touch them (even in jest). Do we think customers roll up for a footlong and a grope? No. But, given the power imbalance that already exists in customer service, the deck needn’t be further stacked against these hot dog slingers. They don’t need to be touched or hear a million “jokes” about wiener grabbing from people looking to be asses.
Dey refuses to change the shirts and considers the backlash the restaurant is facing online to be oppression. (Bruh…)
“I don’t cower to bullies, we are going to stay our stand and do what we do best, provide great food and service,” he said.
We’re not riding the outrage train, but we think he might want to take what people are saying into account and try to be a bit more clever in his cock quips. Do us a favor? Propose a new slogan in the comments. We know our readers can do better.
