Primary Aim Wendys history

By 1962 Clauss was deep into KFC--he owned four unprofitable franchises in Columbus, Ohio, and needed someone to turn them around.

His earnest, imaginative work paid off; Thomas was promoted to regional operations director of KFC and sold his stake in the Columbus restaurants for $1.5 million in 1968, thereby reaching millionaire status by the age of 35.

The beginning of a journey – on November 15, 1969, Dave Thomas opened his very first Wendy’s restaurant in Columbus, Ohio at 257 East Broad Street.

Thomas opened a second location just one year later and began franchising his idea in 1972.

By the end of 1974 the chain's net income topped $1 million, and total sales reached almost $25 million.

In mid-1975 the business celebrated the opening of its 100th restaurant, and that fall Wendy's opened its first international restaurant, located in Canada.

Wendy's went public in 1976 with an offering of one million common shares valued at $28 per share.

The chain's rapid expansion was supported by Wendy's first national advertising campaign in 1977.

1978: The 1,000th Wendy's opens in Springfield, Tennessee.

The chain had introduced its "Garden Spot" in 1979 over Thomas's protestations, becoming the first national restaurant chain to offer salad bars nationwide.

1980 marked the milestone of 2,000 Wendy’s restaurants…and counting.

Founder Dave Thomas made his first appearance as Wendy's spokesperson in 1981 in a controversial ad titled, "Ain't No Reason (to go anyplace else)." Customers' use of the idiomatic double negative "ain't no" in the ads generated national attention for the chain, though not all of it favorable.

Thomas left his position as CEO in 1982, taking the title of senior chairman.

In 1983 Wendy's ads depicted "victims" of other hamburger restaurants, humorously bemoaning the long waits endured in indoor and drive-up lines for frozen hamburger patties.

Founded in Houston in 1984, Café Express was an "upscale bistro" featuring pastas, salads, sandwiches, roasted chicken, soups, side dishes, and an "Oasis Bar" where customers could customize their food with a variety of condiments.

These new products and the phenomenal success of the "Where's the Beef?" campaign catapulted Wendy's to a record $76.2 million in earnings in 1985.

In 1986 the chain introduced sit-down breakfasts featuring omelettes and French toast.

Wendy's introduced its Super Value Menu in 1989.

The grilled chicken sandwich made its first appearance in 1990 as a lighter, lower calorie offering for customers seeking a non-fried chicken protein option.

The 4,000th Wendy’s opened in Bentonville, Arkansas, and was one of 250 Wendy’s restaurants opened in 1992.

In 1993, Dave Thomas received his high school equivalency certificate and shared with 2,500 graduating seniors that he felt his biggest mistake was not finishing high school.

Wendy’s celebrated its milestone 25th birthday with the best present ever – all-time record systemwide sales of $4.2 billion in 1994.

In 1995, Wendy’s was the first major fast food restaurant chain to introduce a spicy chicken sandwich to its menu.

Fans loved the spicy kick of the chicken complimented by mayo, lettuce, tomato and a toasted bun so much, it was announced that it would be offered as a full-time menu option in 1996.

Overall, profits began increasing again in 1999, reaching $167 million on Wendy's International revenues of $2.07 billion.

In 2001, Wendy’s established an auditing program to monitor, verify and evaluate proper animal handling among our United States and Canadian suppliers.

Following positive test results, the new line was rolled out nationally in early 2002 backed by the biggest ad campaign in company history.

It’s no trick that Wendy’s started offering their Halloween-themed Frosty® Coupon Books as a treat in 2003.

In 2004, Wendy’s rolled out kid-friendly offerings for its youngest customers called Wendy’s Kids’ Meal.

In 2007, Wendy’s stacked two fresh beef patties and paired it with American cheese, SIX slices of Applewood smoked bacon, and a soft bun.

A side of curly fries with your Baconator? In 2008, Wendy’s consolidated with Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc. to form Wendy’s/Arby’s Group, Inc. and was headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

In 2010, Wendy’s redesigned its classic French fries.

After nearly three years of a corporate shared services division in Atlanta, Wendy’s and Arby’s decided to go their separate ways in 2011.

The small but mighty Son of Baconator was launched in 2012 to give Baconator fans a chance to go big or go small.

On your mark, get set, go! In 2013, Wendy’s introduced the Frosty 5K Run for Adoption, an event to raise funds and awareness for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.

In 2014, Wendy’s announced a year-long marketing program to tell the story of foster care adoption.

In 2015, meal deals at Wendy’s were changed forever when the 4 for $4 was introduced.

In 2016, Wendy’s broadened communications with customers when it introduced its external blog, The Square Deal.

In 2017, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption announced that their Wendy’s Wonderful Kids® program will be scaled up in key states, promising to dramatically change the lives of tens of thousands of children in foster care over the next 12 years.

In 2018, Wendy’s dropped the hottest mixtape of the year.