tesg's guide to big chain road food consumption

CHAIN -- Wendy's
Owner -- Wendy's International, Inc (NYSE - WEN)
Primary Operating Region -- Nationwide
Number of Locations --  6,727 worldwide (July, 2005)

A funny thing happened recently.

I have been making changes in my diet as of late, taking notice of the purported dangers of trans-fats and products high in sugar or, more importantly, corn syrup.  I'm eating a lot more fruit.  I'm drinking water, soda water, and 100-percent fruit juice almost exclusively.  And...here's the funny part...I'm finding myself at Wendy's about once a week for a Classic Single and a small chili.  They've become my favorite burger and chili in town, and their chili is relatively low in fat.

That's funny because I didn't really care for Wendy's previously.  I've said here that I don't personally find anything special about Wendy's burgers I can't get by just making my own burgers at home, so why should I pay Wendy's prices?  But that's changed.  I don't know if it's my taste since I cut out all the sugar, but... 

Wendy's has a home-spun charm to its "old fashioned hamburgers" that can be blamed squarely on Dave Thomas.  The passing of Dave Thomas struck a lot of people.  I recall hearing it on the radio and being startled, as if I'd lost an old friend.  A friend I mentioned it to was startled...she'd written a paper on him in school.  She actually called her mother.

Dave Thomas was an adopted child. Adoption became a very passionate cause for Thomas.  In 1990, President Bush asked Thomas to head the White House Initiative on Adoption, and in 1992 he established the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, a non-profit organization that provides grants to national and regional adoption organizations for programs that raise awareness and make adoption easier and more affordable.  

Thomas was in management at Kentucky Fried Chicken when he decided to get into the hamburger business.  The first Wendy's, named after one of five daughters (she's a franchisee today), opened in Columbus, OH in 1969.  It's still open.  The second Wendy's debuted what Wendy's claims as the first fast food drive-thru (maybe in the "part of a conventional dine-in location", but several California drive-thru operators existed previously).  In 1976, with 500 locations, Wendy's went public.  Wendy's led several trends in fast food good or bad, adding salad bars in 1979, baked potatoes in 1983, even a "SuperBar" buffet in the 80's.  The Big Classic debuted in 1986.  If you see a trend, you're right...There was a lot of experimentation going on in the 80's.  Wendy's was having difficulties finding a solid foot to march forward on.  Wendy's fell back in the marketplace and were overtaken for a time by Hardee's as the nations number three burger chain.  There "Where's the Beef" marketing campaign had long run out of steam.  So Wendy's turned to the man who started it all...Dave.

Dave hit the airwaves in 1989.  The commercial campaign was supposed to be short-lived, but response was so tremendous that Dave continued doing them until his death in 2002 after over 800 commercials.

Dave's warm, sometimes comical commercials were as old-fashioned as his "old-fashioned hamburgers".  "Wendy's Old-Fashioned Hamburgers", as the older signs say, are just that.  They taste homemade.  But I found them to be plain and, until a recent switch in buns, they never looked like the pictures...they were always "squashed".  But I've sure changed my tune there.  I really like them now.  You can taste all of the ingredients as if they were separate.  Everything stands out. 

Wendy's is the more adult oriented of the big players.  They sell hamburgers.  They don't have playgrounds, they don't have clowns.  You can replace fries in your combo with a salad, cup of chili, or a baked potato.  A brilliant move on their part.

Like many of the major chains, Wendy's spread its wings into other ventures, including Tim Horton's and Baja Fresh, which they've since divested themselves of, and late rumors are they're also considering divesting them of themselves.  

Even if that happens, Wendy's will go forward and succeed beyond Dave.  Just so long as Wendy's never forgets Dave.

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