Runza eaters lit up while watching the cold open for the latest Saturday Night Live episode. The show’s scriptwriters squeezed in a mention of the Midwest-based restaurant company into a Family Feud parody segment where prominent figures in the U.S. presidential race had to guess items you’d keep in your glove compartment. Jim Gaffigan portrayed Democratic VP candidate Tim Walz in the sketch, and he delivered a guess that made Midwesterners feel seen.
“This is right in my wheelhouse,” Gaffigan’s Walz said. “In my glove box, I got HotHands, napkins from Runza, and gotta have Tums in case I eat something spicy, like tomato.”
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Family Feud host Steve Harvey (Kenan Thompson) dismissed the guess as “White nonsense” and the Democrats’ team was penalized with an incorrect answer.
Runza enjoyers could not believe their beloved sandwich chain was called out during the NBC sketch comedy series’ weekly cold open. While anyone who has traveled through Nebraska and surrounding states knows about the chain, most Americans have no idea what Runza is.
One person said, “Only took SNL 50 seasons to make a Runza joke but I’m glad I was able to witness it real time.” Another person wrote, “Never would have imagined Runza getting a shoutout during the cold open of SNL.”
A third person posted, “Runza mentioned on SNL! My fellow Nebraskans, we have arrived!”
However, there was a tad bit of controversy! Though Walz is from Nebraska, he now lives in Minnesota — a state with no Runza locations. As one fan pointed out, “Not to be too Midwest but Walz would never have Runza napkins, they’re not in Minnesota. Should have said Culvers.”
Saturday Night Live Season 50 episodes are now streaming on Peacock, with individual segments also available on YouTube. New episodes air weekly at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC. The next new episode will feature host Michael Keaton and musical guest Billie Eilish.
