More Facts About Wendy's Than You Ever Wanted To Know

Wendy's is just oh-so-familiar that its restaurants could almost seem like wallpaper. The burger chain occupies a relatively small portion of the market compared to other fast food titans, staying in its own lane with a classic and comforting vibe. Yet the franchise still remains relevant within the fast-food ecosystem, satisfying its customers for over 50 years now with tasty burgers and more. Wendy's sandwiches have enough going for them to stand out from competitors, with those unmistakable, signature, square patties remaining unchanged. Of course, like any top-tier chain, there have been menu item changes over the years, but the core identity of Wendy's remains intact, despite its founder, Dave Thomas, passing away in 2002.

Here we will dive into the lesser-known aspects of Wendy's, exploring facts about the company that may surprise you. Wendy's has a long and storied history, earning its place as a contributing factor to popular culture in America.

Yup, the iconic cartoon character of a red-haired girl, smiling with braids — an integral part of the Wendy's logo — is indeed based on a real person, although her name, legally speaking, isn't actually Wendy. Melinda Lou Thomas-Morse is the daughter of the late Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy's. As the story goes, she got the nickname "Wendy" as a baby, and it stuck, later becoming inspiration for Dave's burger empire. However, Thomas eventually stated in his autobiography that he regretted including his daughter in the branding, as it encroached on her privacy while creating an inescapable association. But you have to admit, "Wendy's" has a nice ring to it!

When you think of successful CEO's and people who start companies that shape pop culture, you probably think of someone who graduated from business school. This wasn't the case with Wendy's founder, Dave Thomas, who dropped out of high school. However, after being questioned for his decision by students, he decided to tie up some loose ends. In 1993, at the age of 61, four decades after initially calling it quits at school, Dave got his GED. Despite being successful in business without his diploma, he was an advocate for the importance of education, publicly stating that dropping out was one of his biggest regrets.

Most foodies tend to gravitate towards sea salt when it comes to seasoning. And while there are many types of salts on the market, Kosher and sea salt are used by the best chefs and cooks around as an industry standard. However, within the fast food world, one might assume that cheaper ingredients, such as table salt, are the default. Such was the case with Wendy's until 15 years ago, when the restaurant decided to do a fries upgrade, switching from table salt to sea salt for seasoning. The company was looking for a way to distinguish itself in the market, offering a more premium version of the popular side. And it seemed to work — Wendy's fans weren't salty over the change!

When you think of Wendy's, burgers might not even be the first thing that comes to mind; you may instead picture a delicious, chocolatey Frosty in all its glory. And yet, some may not know what to call a Frosty, where the very essence of the dessert is questioned. Is it ice cream? A super thick milkshake? Introduced in 1969 in original chocolate flavor, it was then considered a frosted malt, with some vanilla added to smooth out the flavors. Wendy's says the frozen treat is neither ice cream nor a milkshake, in fact, stating, "[it's] too thick for a straw and easily scooped with a spoon." To make matters more confusing, many Wendy's fans claim its fries pair well with a Frosty.

Wendy's french fries are so good, they may even be preferred by some fast food fanatics as the superior fry out there. With their thick natural cut, potato skins add a bit more flavor — in addition to visual appeal — with that aforementioned sea salt rounding out the seasoning. However, in 2021, the burger braintrust at Wendy's decided it was time to revamp the fries yet again, ensuring they stay crispy. During the pandemic, many customers opted to order takeout via third-party apps or chose drive-thru service over dining in, which meant that fries sat in bags for longer, making them more prone to getting soggy. To address this, Wendy's added a thin batter to coat the fries, helping them stay crispier longer.

Internet lore has led some Wendy's fans and conspiracy theorists out there to believe that there's a "secret message" hidden within the restaurant's logo. If you look closely at the collar on the cartoon drawing of Wendy, with the way the folds are drawn and how the centre seam looks, it almost appears to spell out "M-O-M" curiously. While this would be a fun fact if it were indeed true, the franchise came out to discredit this claim publicly, telling Business Insider, "We are aware of this and find it interesting that it appears our Wendy cameo has 'mom' on her ruffled collar. We can assure you it was unintentional."

You may be too young to remember, but back in the day, Wendy's restaurants had full-blown salad bars inside them. For customers who dined in, they could reap the benefits of the "SuperBar" buffet, as it was called, with a self-serve salad on the menu. First unveiled to customers in 1987, these salad bars lasted for around ten years as a healthy option for busy people. Salad bars may seem to run counter to the very notion of fast food, but buffets were part of the zeitgeist in the late 20th century — now a distant memory.

Pretty much every corporation, from large conglomerates to small businesses, actively use social media. Wendy's is no different. Scrolling the threads of say, Nike or Starbucks, isn't likely to elicit a laugh as dry marketing content stacks up by the hour. Wendy's decided to make things fun, where its team of marketers and social media experts buck the trend, trolling competitors with sassy tweets. As an example, it tweeted last year, "Pookie looking absolutely fire" as the caption to a picture of the golden arches sign at a McDonald's literally burning in huge flames. Another tweet from 2020 shows a picture of a McDonald's delivery van with an X user asking Wendy's what the company would call it — to which Wendy's replied, "Is it a garbage truck?" Ouch. 

Some health-conscious carnivores out there like to avoid consuming any meat that may have come from antibiotic-ridden animals. To address these concerns, in 2016, Wendy's set out to reduce the reliance on antibiotics within the beef, chicken, and pork supply, working with its Animal Welfare Council on the project. Hoping to exclusively source 100% antibiotic-free meat for its sandwiches by 2030, the franchise continues to take steps to reduce livestock reliance on drugs through intentional sourcing and improved animal management practices. Treating animals properly is great, and antibiotics in meat certainly don't sound very appetizing! Well done, Wendy's.

If you've ever wondered why beef patties at Wendy's come square-shaped — sticking out amidst a fast-food universe of round patties — there is a logic to it. Dave Thomas wanted to set his restaurants apart from competitors, so in 1969, he opted to use fresh meat that was shaped in squares, with the corners of the meat sticking out over the buns on purpose. The chain doubles down on this ethos with a slogan it touted, to the effect: "Cutting corners isn't in Wendy's DNA." What's more, square patties offer grilling efficiency as more burgers can fit onto a grill, the company's vice president of culinary innovation told CNN Business in 2022.

Food waste plagues the restaurant industry, from high-end, formal dining establishments to everyday fast-food outlets. Wendy's is one of the few chains around that has a chili on the menu, and a solid one at that: Its stick-to-your-bones, hearty chili cleverly utilizes unsold burger patties. According to the company's website, founder Dave Thomas was quite resourceful, seeking to implement leftover beef patties into his chili recipe, both for depth of flavor and economical reasons. The patties still have to fall within a window of freshness, though, to ensure a quality product.

Dave Thomas was adopted, and being the big-hearted guy that he was, he created the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption in 1992. He used his platform to bring awareness to children who wanted to find a home and be loved, and adults looking to adopt. As of the time of writing, the foundation has celebrated finding permanent homes for over 15,000 children in foster care situations in the U.S. and Canada. Pretty commendable! Who says corporations can't do some good in the world?

For fast food fans who travel the globe, there is an allure of visiting a restaurant location in, say, Shanghai, and trying the different menu items and unique sauces not available back home. Many think of the golden arches as the pinnacle of unique menus around the world, tapping into flavors and trends of local cuisines with its signature spin. However, Wendy's also offers up some different options, such as onion rings, which are found on menus in the Middle East, as well as New Zealand. Customers in Georgia and Mexico also have year-round access to a jalapeño burger with a chicken or beef patty. Yum!

Much of modern discourse revolves around AI lately, seemingly affecting every industry in existence in one way or another. Fast food is no different, with the technology showing up at Wendy's drive-thrus. The company sought to refine the pickup experience, as more than 75 percent of its customers arrive at the restaurant via their cars. Partnering with Google Cloud, Wendy's "FreshAI" generative artificial intelligence was created to streamline the ordering process. As of last year, Spanish is now offered by the system, too. Pretty cool!

A baked potato in a fast food bag seems like a strange combination, and not something you commonly associate with fast food, as a baked potato's cousin, the fry, is king. But it is just this reason that makes Wendy's unique and quirky in the best way, where customers can get a fresh and hot tuber loaded up with all the fixings like sour cream, chives, broccoli, chili, and cheese. This side dish was first introduced on Wendy's menus in 1983, almost 15 years after the chain opened. Baked potato fans will be pleased to know that they're still available at all locations, year-round. Coming in at $2.99 for the basic version of sour cream and chive, or $4.69 for the more deluxe chili cheese option, it stands as an interesting and affordable snack for customers.

This one is for all the Millennial, Gen-X, and Boomer readers out there. Sorry, Gen-Z readers, you likely missed out on this era of fast food, where a simple visit to Wendy's meant basking in glorious daylight while noshing on a burger. In the 1980s, '90s, and 2000s, the franchise differentiated itself from competitors with unique and inviting sunrooms at the front of its restaurants, which became recognizable and synonymous with the chain. Sadly, in 2012, Wendy's started to phase out these solariums, citing energy costs, as they were expensive to heat during the winter and cool in the summer. This aligns with the corporation's overall push towards modernization, as it has given its burger joints facelifts in recent years to keep up with the times.

You could say Dave Thomas liked the attention. The Wendy's founder was notorious for his television commercial appearances back in the day, showing up in over a staggering 800 advertisements for the company. Beginning his on-camera campaign in 1989, he became quite recognizable and didn't shy away from the spotlight. This may seem amusing to younger readers, but having such a presence on television was crucial for companies, helping them stay relevant within pop culture. Dave's legacy of lighthearted advertising still lives on via YouTube, where classic Wendy's commercials can be experienced all over again.

A drive-thru is synonymous with fast food, and as we mentioned earlier, it's the most common method Wendy's customers use when a burger craving hits. But while the company was not the first to implement a pick-up window, it was one of the first chains to do so successfully. In 1970, just one year after opening its doors in Columbus, Ohio, a standalone pick-up window was created at that location — five years before McDonald's and Burger King followed suit. Wendy's innovative move set the tone for fast food on the go, while modernizing the drive-thru experience.

Back when the restaurant first opened, the name of the game was simplicity. Dave Thomas wanted a menu that was quintessentially American and approachable, featuring classics that were widely loved. He introduced five menu items: a hamburger, French fries, soft drinks, the delicious and indelible Frosty, and that hearty chili. To this day, all five menu items remain available, 56 years after their introduction. Of course, since then, the menu has changed and expanded significantly, but the core identity of the restaurant remains largely intact.

Sourcing high-quality beef seems to be a major preoccupation of Wendy's, whether it's the pursuit of antibiotic-free meat, or burger patties that are fresh and never frozen. Founder Dave Thomas always had a dogmatic approach when it came to the core — and arguably most important — menu item: the burger. The company has historically gone out of its way to source meat, using refrigerated trucks that visit its locations thousands of times per week, across the nation. Whether or not this obsession with fresh, never frozen beef makes a difference in flavor, we'll leave that up to you. Those who are truly curious could do a comparison, as the chain now offers its famous square beef patties — shockingly — in frozen format in two states. Wendy's fans lucky enough to live in Denver, Colorado, or the restaurant's birthplace of Columbus, Ohio, can find the meat in select grocery stores.

While KFC and Wendy's may have little in common on paper, the two restaurants are actually intimately linked through the greasy lens of fast food history. As it turns out, the KFC franchise locations in Dave Thomas' hometown of Columbus were floundering and needed high-level managerial guidance to get them back on track in the late 60s. Dave was tasked with helping out at the four local KFCs, with the promise of a 45 percent profit share if he could save them. Through this project, Dave, despite being 40 years his junior, became close with Colonel Sanders as he mentored him through the difficult period. Dave instructed the Colonel to simplify the menu (much like his own) and invest in marketing. He even introduced the idea for KFC's now iconic take-out buckets. Dave sold his shares in 1968 for $1.5 million, parlaying that cash into a food venture of his own: Wendy's. And the rest, as they say, is history.