Wendy's Was Once A Sister Chain To This Underrated Fast Food Joint — But Only For 3 Years

With so many restaurant chains owned by larger holding companies, it's not uncommon to hear of unexpected eateries having ties to each other. For example, Jersey Mike's and 7 Brew are sister brands owned by Blackstone Inc., which has invested billions in multiple restaurant brands. Wendy's is no stranger to this phenomenon; it experienced multiple changes in ownership before settling at The Wendy's Company, which also holds the Japanese restaurant chain First Kitchen. But before its connection to this overseas chain, Wendy's was briefly the sister company of Arby's, the home of the meats — which is just one of many other interesting Wendy's facts.

The merger between Wendy's and Arby's occurred in 2008, when businessman Nelson Peltz bought the burger chain for $2.3 billion through his holding company Triarc Companies Inc, which also owned Arby's. Both restaurants were struggling at the time due to the Great Recession, unsuccessful marketing campaigns, and declining sales. The transaction created the Wendy's/Arby's Group, Inc. and was Peltz's attempt to revitalize Wendy's and its decreased profits. Over the next few years, the Wendy's/Arby's Group focused on expanding the two restaurants into international markets, including Australia and Russia, and testing hybrid stores that sold items from both menus.

Despite efforts to improve sales and revenue for both brands, the two couldn't stand up against beloved fast food places like Burger King and McDonald's. The merger began to unravel in January 2011 when the Wendy's/Arby's Group announced it was looking to sell Arby's. Though both brands had their issues, Arby's showed worse financial performance than Wendy's due to its higher-priced sandwiches compared to other fast food chains, especially amid a recession. As a result, the Wendy's/Arby's Group sold Arby's to Roark Capital in the latter half of 2011 while retaining a stake of 18.5%, allowing the company to focus on the burger chain while still benefiting from any financial improvements at Arby's.

This transaction gave way to The Wendy's Company of today. In 2018, the remaining ties between Wendy's and Arby's were cut when Wendy's sold its stake, which had dropped to 12.3% due to Arby's acquiring Buffalo Wild Wings. Now owned by Inspire Brands, a holding company of Roark Capital, Arby's has other sister brands that foodies know well — Sonic, Baskin-Robbins, Dunkin, and Jimmy John's. For many fast-food consumers, Arby's has never really captured hearts the way its sister brands have, but that won't stop it from rolling out new menu items and promotions.

Wendy's hasn't always had the best reputation either. A 2026 YouGov study revealed that only 8% of U.S. adults surveyed associate Wendy's with the best burgers, compared to 18% for Burger King. However, a $1.4 billion buyout proposal from Peltz, announced in October 2026, could lead to a possible upturn and another round of significant changes for Wendy's.