You're Gonna Love It...or maybe not

Having lived in New York City and San Francisco, two of the restaurant capitals of America, I thought I’d tasted, or at least heard of, most of the foods that grace our country. But when I moved to Cincinnati, I was introduced to a culinary experience that I had no idea existed. Skyline Chili.

First of all, to call Skyline Chili “chili” is a stretch. What it is is a thin, bean-less, virtually meatless, chili-flavored sauce that is spooned over a wad of spaghetti or a hot dog and topped with a massive pile of shredded cheddar cheese. Cincinnatians love it. Skyline Chili restaurants are always packed. Friends said, “You have to try it! You’re gonna love it!”. 

Well I did, and I didn’t.

I thought Skyline Chili was gross. I thought it was a midwestern chili-esque Franken-food mistake that had somehow escaped the kitchen and was bent on terrorizing the populace.

But Skyline Chili taught me something. It taught me that you can succeed even if you aren’t universally loved. You can be weird. You can be different. But as long as you find your super-fans and give them that one thing they crave, you can endure. 

Even if some people think it’s gross.

Philip VanDusen is a branding thought leader and principal of Verhaal Brand Design an agency that specializes in brand strategy and design building equity for companies and entrepreneurs. Get more from Philip in his newsletter brand?muse, his popular YouTube channel or connect with Verhaal Brand Design on Facebook.