When the Wienerlicious owners, Frank N Stuff Inc., wanted a giant hotdog atop their new building, they didn’t have far to look for the guy to make it happen. They chose the same artist who created a 30-foot tall grizzly bear just up the street in Mackinaw City, Ron Berman of Berman Studios, Inc.

“I’m a urethane man,” says Berman, whose studio is located in Clearwater, Fla.

“I spent years working for Disney where everything is Expanded Polystyrene (EPS), but when I got out on my own I met Tim Kearns, the grandfather of spray polyurethane foam (SPF). He taught me all about the machines, the chemical process, and how to spray the polyurethane foam, and I fell in love with it. It’s an ideal product for sculptures like this hotdog. Since then I’ve developed my own system of design, fabrication, and SPF use that gives me real flexibility, and saves the customer anywhere from 40–80 percent on materials and production time.”

Berman says he was impressed by Behling and Great Lakes Insulation, “Their knowledge and spraying skill level were really impressive. And that brand of SPF they used was amazingly consistent. Worked great in the fluctuating climate in which we worked.”

Behling agrees about the brand of foam, “We used NCFI’s InsulStar closed-cell foam because it’s the best on the market. It’s clean, trouble free, and always provides the same yield. We ended up using about five sets of InsulStar to do the hotdog, a bit of touch up, and the mustard and jalapenos.”

While he won’t divulge his proprietary process, Berman says he starts with sketches, then 3-D modeling, then creates the exoskeleton by bending a pencil rod steel wire frame—which in the case of the hotdog was done by a 13-year-old apprentice—then Great Lakes sprayed 2 inches of InsulStar. “Once the spray foam cures, we sculpt it. Again, my process saves the customer because we can use laborers instead of artists to do the shaving. Next we touch-up the foam where it needs it and seal it all with fiberglass. I usually use polyurea, but the customer wanted fiberglass, so we used it. Then we paint it.”

When asked about his obvious pride in the success of the sculpt, Berman said, “I mean, it’s a hotdog. It’s not Rodin’s Thinker. It’s a giant weenie. But, it’s a gorgeous giant weenie.”

Wienerlicious owners say the giant hotdog is working exactly as they hoped at attracting customers. As one reviewer on TripAdvisor® put it, “When you drive past a restaurant called Wienerlicious with a giant hotdog on the roof how can you not stop and try it?”

World's Largest Spray Foam Hot Dog

(Roadside America)

"The hot dog weighs only a little over 1.5 tons, but is 63 feet long by 12.5 feet high from its base. It was created by artist Ron Berman of Berman Studios in Palmetto, Florida. That would be me."

"A Weinerlicious experience! Worth the whole tip and more!"

"The place is clean and the staff are professional. Be sure to get a picture of the roof."

"Amazing! The dogs were so good and it's a great photo op! The staff were very friendly and made us feel welcome! They have a great diner feel. Overall I definitely recommend stopping by."

"Love the big weiner on the roof. Food was good! Manager and whole staff were so friendly. They even took our picture."

"Watching everyday this nice giant hot-dog on the roof has helped us to make the decision. The hot-dogs time! Each of us ordered something different. Foot long hot-dog sounds great! All of them were tasty. We like this place. I recommend it."

"The giant wiener caught our attention from the interstate and fortunately we caught the last exit before the bridge. So glad we did.
My wife exclaimed about the goodness of her Chicago dog. While messy, my Spicy Italian sausage with onions and peppers was outstanding. No small sausage either. We share a medium basket of waffle fries with chili and cheese that were crazy good."