Wendy's

**Wendy's** is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. The company moved its headquarters to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of December 31, 2018, Wendy's was the world's third-largest hamburger fast-food chain with 6,711 locations, following Burger King and McDonald's. On April 24, 2008, the company announced a merger with Triarc Companies Inc., a publicly-traded company and the parent company of Arby's. Wendy's headquarters remained in Dublin. Following the merger, Triarc became known as Wendy's/Arby's Group, and later as The Wendy's Company.

As of December 31, 2018, there were a total of 6,711 locations, including 353 that are company-owned and 6,358 that are franchised; 92% of the system-wide locations are in North America. While Wendy's determines standards for each store's exterior appearance, food quality, and menu, the store owners have control over hours of operations, interior decor, pricing, staff uniforms, and wages.

The chain is known for its square hamburgers, sea salt fries, and Frosty, a form of soft-serve ice cream mixed with starches. Wendy's menu consists primarily of hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, French fries, and beverages such as the Frosty. Since phasing out their Big Classic, the company does not have a signature sandwich, such as the Burger King Whopper or the McDonald's Big Mac. Dave's 1⁄4 pound (110 g) Single was introduced in 2011 as Dave's Hot 'N Juicy, a reworking of the longstanding Wendy's Single (shortened to simply Dave's in 2016), a square-pattied burger made with fresh ground beef rather than round frozen patties. Wendy's uses square hamburger patties – which hang over the edge of a circular bun – as its signature item.

## History

Wendy's "old-fashioned" hamburgers were inspired by Dave Thomas's trips to Kewpee Hamburgers in his home town of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Kewpee sold square hamburgers and thick malt shakes. Thomas founded Wendy's in Columbus, Ohio in 1969 and featured square patties with corners that stuck out from the sides of the circular bun, giving the impression of an abundance of good quality meat. The Columbus location later added a Tim Hortons and was closed on March 2, 2007, after 38 years of business, due to declining sales. Basketball star John Havlicek, an Ohio State University alumnus, was one of Thomas's earliest investors, which eventually gave Havlicek enough of an income stream to retire comfortably.

Thomas named the restaurant after his fourth child Melinda Lou "Wendy" Thomas. Photographs of her were on display at the original Wendy's restaurant until it closed. In August 1972, the first Wendy's franchisee, L.S. Hartzog, signed an agreement for Indianapolis, Indiana. Also, in 1972, Wendy's aired its first TV commercials that were only broadcast locally in Ohio. This series of commercials was titled "C'mon to Wendy's" because they stressed Wendy's superiority through the "Quality Is Our Recipe" slogan and featured an animated Wendy similar to the one from the corporate logo along with dancing hamburgers.

The first Canadian restaurant opened in Hamilton, Ontario in 1976. In December 1976, Wendy's opened its 500th restaurant, located in Toronto. In March 1978, Wendy's opened its 1000th restaurant in Springfield, Tennessee.

Wendy's founded the fried chicken chain Sisters Chicken in 1978 and sold it to its largest franchiser in 1987. In 1979, the first European Wendy's opened in Munich. The same year, Wendy's became the first fast-food chain to introduce the salad bar. Wendy's entered the Asian market by opening its first restaurants in Japan in 1980, in Hong Kong in 1982, and in the Philippines and Singapore in 1983. In 1984, Wendy's opened its first restaurant in South Korea.
A busy front counter at a Wendy's restaurant in Niagara Falls, Ontario
The chain opened locations in Germany in the 1980s in areas, like Mannheim, Heidelberg or Munich and other areas, where the US maintained Army bases. When the troops were removed, after Germany reunited, these Wendy's stores were closed. As of 2019, there are no Wendy's restaurants in Germany left.

In response to a 1986 slowdown in the chain's performance, Wendy's restructured its cleanliness standards, menu, and other operational details to ensure that stores met the goals and standards of the parent company so that its franchises were competitive in the market. Wendy's closed all its outlets in Hong Kong in 1986 and in Singapore in the following year.

From 1988 to 1990, Wendy's expanded operations globally to Mexico, New Zealand, Indonesia, Greece, Turkey, Guatemala, as well as the U.S. Naval Base in Naples, Italy. In 1988, Wendy's expanded its bar to a full-blown buffet called the Superbar for $2.99. The Superbar had various stations: "Mexican Fiesta", the Italian "Pasta Pasta," and the "Garden Spot", salad and fruit. The Superbar was popular but difficult to maintain and thus was discontinued in 1998.

In 1989, Wendy's opened its first restaurant in Greece at Syntagma Square being the first foreign fast-food chain in the country. After opening 12 restaurants in 3 cities, the company abandoned the Greek market in 2002. In 1996, the chain expanded in Argentina by opening 18 local restaurants. However, all of them closed only four years later due to the economic crisis in the country. In 1998, Wendy's pulled out of South Korea by closing all its 15 restaurants and in 2000 exited from the UK, Argentina, and Hong Kong.

Garden Sensations salads were added in 2002. Wendy's signed a franchise agreement to re-enter the Singapore market in 2009, though that agreement was short-lived; in April 2015, Wendy's once again ceased operation in the country and closed all the restaurants.

In 2011, Wendy's returned to Japan and Argentina announcing a development agreement for 50 restaurants in the country. It also entered the Russian market for the first time with plans to open 180 restaurants over a 10-year period. However, only three years later, in 2014, Wendy's closed all its restaurants in the country.

In 2013, Wendy's opened the first restaurant in Georgia and made a deal to open 25 restaurants in Georgia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. In September 2014, several pork-based products were introduced to be on sale until early November. These included a standard pulled pork sandwich with slaw and three sauce options, a BBQ Pulled Pork Cheeseburger and cheese fries with pulled pork, cheddar cheese sauce, onions, and barbecue sauce. In May 2015, Wendy's announced they would be expanding into India, with its first outlet located in Gurgaon.

In 2017, the company sold 540 of its restaurants. The divesture was the second step in a three-step action plan to improve the brand. Other steps include new openings and remodeling of existing stores. In 2015, the brand opened 80 new restaurants and remodeled 450 of its existing locations. The brand's goal is to remodel at least 60% of its North American locations by year-end 2020.

In September 2016, JAE Restaurant Group acquired 97 Wendy's restaurants throughout the South Florida region. JAE Restaurant Group is one of the country's largest franchisee owners. The Group owns 177 Wendy's Restaurants. Wendy's Co. has been looking to remodel existing stores and upgrade the curb appeal of its locations. They have been doing this by adding fireplaces, more seating options, adding WiFi and flat-screen TVs, and digital menus. Wendy's Co expects to sell 258 more restaurants during the rest of 2016. In total, it will be looking to sell $435 million of its restaurants.

In October 2019, Wendy's announced that it was returning to the UK market, which it had left in the early 2000s. The first of 20 planned restaurants will open in 2020.

### Wendy's by country and continent

#### Americas

* Argentina
* Aruba
* The Bahamas
* Canada (since 1976)
* Chile
* Dominican Republic
* Ecuador
* El Salvador
* Cayman Islands
* Guatemala
* Honduras
* Jamaica
* Mexico
* Panama
* Trinidad and Tobago
* United States (since 1969)
* Venezuela

#### Asia

* Azerbaijan
* Georgia
* India
* Indonesia (since 1990; acquired by Trans Corp as of 2013)
* Japan (since 1980; closed 2009–2011)
* Kuwait
* Philippines (since 1982)
* Qatar
* United Arab Emirates

#### Oceania

* Guam
* New Zealand

#### Europe

* United Kingdom (since 1980; closed 1986-1992; 2001-2021)
* Georgia (since 2013; first location in the Caucasus)

### Former locations

* Australia
* Brazil (2016–2019)
* Costa Rica (2005–2015)
* Germany
* Greece (1989–2002)
* Hong Kong (1982–2000)
* Hungary (1994–2002)
* Ireland
* Israel (operated for a few years from 1987)
* Italy
* Malaysia (2008–2019)
* Netherlands
* Russia (2011–2014)
* Singapore (2009–2015)
* South Africa
* South Korea (1984–1998)
* Taiwan
* Turkey