Wendy's

For the Australian ice cream chain, see Wendy's (Australia).

Wendy's Corporation is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Dublin, Ohio and owned by the American corporation Wendy's International, Inc. There are over 6,600 Wendy's restaurants worldwide.

The chain is famous for its chili. It is also known for its Frosty dairy desserts, the fact that their burgers are square and made from fresh (as opposed to frozen) ground beef, and its making of all sandwich items to order. Wendy's has recently begun experimenting with a breakfast menu in some of its stores. Unlike most fast food chains, Wendy's historically did not serve breakfast, except for stores in Puerto Rico. Wendy's tried serving breakfast once before in the mid-1980s, but the endeavor failed.

Wendy's also experimented with "fast-food buffets" in the late 1980s and early 1990s in certain locations. These buffets were reasonably-priced and generally consisted of three "pods": a salad pod, a spaghetti and other hot items pod, and a dessert and other cold items pod. These buffets, while economical and somewhat popular, did not fit into Wendy's fast-food oriented mindset. Most restaurants stopped featuring the buffets around 1998.

Wendy's combo meals originally featured french fries as the side item, but currently a number of options for side items are featured, including salads, chili, potato chips, and a baked potato.

In June 2006, Wendy's removed their classic "Biggie" and "Great Biggie" sizes in favor of a more traditional sizing system; "Small", "Medium", and "Large". ^*

In the weeks to come, Wendy's will be introduicng a new vanilla flavor of their famous Frosty's dessert.

History

Founding

Wendy's was founded by Dave Thomas and Robert Barney in 1969 and named after Dave's 8-year old daughter, Melinda, who had the nickname of "Wendy." The corporate headquarters is located in Dublin, Ohio. The first Wendy's restaurant was opened in Columbus, Ohio on November 15, 1969, and grew rapidly to open over 3,000 stores by 1985. However, by the mid-1980s some Wendy's restaurants became underperforming and closed. By 1989, Dave Thomas came out of retirement and started doing commercials for Wendy's and helped rebuild the restaurant until his death in 2002.

International expansion

After international expansion in the 1980s, the chain retrenched in the late 1990s. In 1999 it pulled out of London and Hong Kong (its Hong Kong branch was located on Lockhart Road in Wan Chai).

Ownership

In 1995, Tim Hortons' popularity had spilled over to American investors; the chain's parent company, The TDL Group ("TDL" stands for the original corporate name "Tim Donut Ltd."), was acquired by Wendy's International, Inc.. As a result, Ron Joyce, Tim Horton's partner and first franchisee, was, for a time, the largest shareholder of Wendy's.

News events

Chili hoax - On March 22, 2005, Anna Ayala of Las Vegas, NV claimed to find an amputated human finger in her chili. On April 21 she was arrested and charged with attempted grand larceny in connection with the finger discovery claim. On May 13, police announced that they had positively identified the finger's owner, an associate of Ayala's husband ^*. The associate had lost his finger in an industrial accident in December 2004. Mrs. Ayala pled guilty to the charge in September 2005 and was sentenced to nine years in prison. Her husband pleaded guilty to being an accomplice and received a twelve year sentence on January 18, 2006.

Countries with Wendy's

Aside from the United States, Wendy's has opened restaurants in Aruba, Canada, Cayman Islands, El Salvador, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers didn't last long in Australia nor in Colombia. Nine restaurants were picked up in Victoria by Hungry Jack's in 1986 after the Wendy's Hamburger Chain went bust. The Hungry Jack's Story explains in limited detail about the Wendy's Hamburgers acquisition. Stores in Australia called Wendy's are an Australian ice cream franchise which is unrelated to the American hamburger chain (stores for both are found in New Zealand. See Wendy's (Australia). Wendy's restaurants closed in Greece in 2002 after almost 8 years of operation due to heavy competition from other restaurants such as Goody's and McDonald's. Wendy's also had locations in major cities across the United Kingdom; these were sold to McDonald's in 1999. Wendy's also had 18 restaurants in Argentina. All of them were closed in November 2000. Wendy's had been in the local market for four years and made the decision due to the poor performance of its restaurants.In 2004 a East Rockaway Resident Brian Hughes was highly noted for eating 18 Junior Bacon Cheese Burgers in one sitting (13mins) [http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=12649

Advertising

Starting on January 9, 1984, elderly actress Clara Peller was featured in the successful "Where's the Beef?" North American commercial campaign for Wendy's. Her famous line quickly entered the American pop culture (it was even used by Walter Mondale in a debate with Gary Hart in the Democratic primary election) and served to promote Wendy's hamburgers. Peller, age 84, was dropped from the campaign in 1985 because she performed in a commercial for Prego spaghetti sauce, saying she "finally found" the beef. Peller was soon after replaced by Wendy's founder Dave Thomas himself. Soft-spoken and cheerful, the "Dave" ads generally focused on Thomas praising his products and offering a commitment to quality service, although there would occasionally be "wackier" ads as well. After Dave Thomas' death in 2002, Wendy's struggled to find a new advertising campaign. After a round of conventional ads describing the food they serve, in 2004 they tried using a character they made called "Mr. Wendy" who claimed to be the unofficial spokesperson for the chain. After seven months, Wendy's returned to an animated campaign focusing on the difference between Wendy's square hamburgers and the round hamburgers of competitors. Wendy's marketing arm engages in product placement in films (such as The Day After Tomorrow, Mr. Deeds, The Movie, and Click) and television and is sometimes seen on ABC's hit reality show Home Edition serving food to the more than 100 construction workers.

Slogans

1970: "Quality is Our Recipe" (still on logo)
1978: "Juicy hamburgers and lots of napkins"
1980: "Wendy's Has the Taste"
1981: "Ain't No Reason to Go Anyplace Else"
1982: "You're Wendy's Kind of People"?
1983: "It's the best time for...Wendy's" (Philippines)
1983: "Aren't you hungry... Aren't you hungry?" with napkins wiping face
1984: "Where's the beef?"
Circa 1990: "The best burgers and a whole lot more"
1997 - Present: "Eat great, even late"
2002 - "It's hamburger bliss."
2001 (approx) - Present: "El Sabor de lo Recien Hecho" (Honduras)
2004: "It's better here"
2000 (approx) - Present: "We don't cut corners" (New Zealand)
2000 (approx) - Present: "Wendy's cuadra contigo" (Venezuela)
2005 - Present: "Do what tastes right"
2005 - Present: "It's Good To Be Square"
2006 - Present: "Don't Compromise. Personalize"

Secret Menu Items

Wendy's is also the home of a four-patty burger, colloquially known as a "Grand Slam". Though it does not appear on their in-store menus, most Wendy's employees recognize the order. Additionally, the order appears on both the LCD screen of the cash registers, and on the reciept. Though it is less common, a five-patty burger will sometimes be referred to as a "Super Grand Slam", especially in Southern Canada.

External links

Wendy's official website
Wendy's Good To Be Square website
Wendy's Do What Tastes Right website
Wendy's Philippines
Junior! The Wendy's Guy - A cashier at the Wendy's in the University of Texas at Austin, who has gained notoriety for his quick fingers and friendly attitude.

References

'Wendy's International, Inc.', I Won Careers (2000). Retrieved August 21 2005.

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