It’s been a busy few months in Nebraska for the makers of what is most decidedly not a Hot Pocket.
Runza, the Nebraska fast-food chain that sells Russo-German-style ground beef sandwiches of the same name, caused a traffic jam in Lincoln when it offered a limited release breakfast runza. The company also opened a new restaurant in Iowa, its third outlet there in what its scores of fans hope will morph into a major cross-border expansion.
And on a recent sunny afternoon, a motorcade of black SUVs pulled into a Runza restaurant in Omaha, and out stepped Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, the Democratic nominee for vice president. He entered the restaurant flanked by an entourage of men in dark suits and sunglasses.
By the time he shook hands with workers, proclaimed the obvious — “The iconic Nebraska restaurant is the Runza” — and exited, he had spent more than $600, according to a CNN report that day, an impressive tally at a restaurant where a single cheese Runza is $6.09.
“If you’re just going to be a good person, go to Runza,” Mr. Walz said.
Runza is a legend in Nebraska but a mystery to many outside the state. It’s sold in some 80 restaurants and in the stands at Cornhusker football games, and it will soon be on sale in a newly expanded Omaha airport.
Recently, Runza’s popularity has grown nationally, largely because its unintentional spokesman is running for vice president. It helps that Nebraska, where the company originated and where Mr. Walz grew up, is being closely watched in the presidential election because it splits its electoral votes. By some calculations, the single electoral vote in the Omaha area could wind up landing a victory for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Besides the high-profile motorcade pit stop, Mr. Walz mentioned Runza in August at a televised rally in La Vista, Neb., as he mocked his Republican opponent, Senator JD Vance, who also grew up in the middle of the country, in Ohio.
“You think JD Vance knows one damn thing about Nebraska?” Walz asked as the crowd roared with laughter. “You think he’s ever had a runza? That guy would call it a Hot Pocket. You know it.”
Runza was mentioned in a recent “Saturday Night Live” cold open and made an appearance on “The Daily Show” when Jordan Klepper called Mr. Walz’s dis on Mr. Vance an “extremely regional slam.”
“Walz got him good, I think?” Mr. Klepper said. “That was the most specific pandering I’ve ever heard.”
Besides Runza, other brands have made cameos on the campaign trail. Ms. Harris has said she turned to Doritos as comfort food after the 2016 election and has recently been spotted eating them between campaign stops. Former President Donald J. Trump has made no secret about his love for McDonald’s — and this month even worked at a McDonald’s restaurant in a campaign stunt in Pennsylvania. Diet Mountain Dew took center stage this summer when both Mr. Vance and Mr. Walz, in a brief moment of bipartisan unity, proclaimed their love for the soft drink.
Runzas, however, are not as well known nationally. At least not yet.
Runzas are a take on an Eastern European concoction called the bierock. A discerning palate might find Nebraska’s version bland. Enveloped by bread, they are somehow moist but not soggy; a hint of cabbage and onion substitutes for spice. The masses in Nebraska adore them. A popular bumper sticker in the 1990s read, “Follow My Bunza to Runza.”
The company frequently donates to local charities. On Tuesdays in January and February, its restaurants are known to sell runzas for the price of whatever the temperature is at 6 a.m., along with regularly priced fries and a medium drink. (For example, if the thermometer registers 10 degrees Fahrenheit, runzas are 10 cents. If the temperature is below zero, the sandwiches are free.)
It’s one of the only fast-food restaurants where you can order “frings,” fries and onion rings in the same packet. And Runza restaurants sell another unique-to-Nebraska combo: chili and cinnamon rolls.
Runza officials, like many Nebraskans protective of their way of life, are notoriously persnickety about their brand.
When David Utterback, a James Beard Award-winning sushi chef, tried to pay tribute to the chain at his Omaha restaurant with his own Runza-esque steamed bun called ranza, officials from Runza sent him a cease-and-desist letter.
If Runza is enjoying a boost from Mr. Walz, company officials aren’t saying so. They did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
The post The Runza, a Favorite Nebraska Sandwich, Has a Cameo in the Campaign appeared first on New York Times.
