Wendy's facts for kids

A Wendy's restaurant in Japan

The Wendy's logo

Wendy's is an international chain of fast food restaurants founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969 in Columbus, Ohio. Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. The company moved its headquarters to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006.

Key Dates

1969: Wendy's founded
1970: Opens first commercial drive-thru
1979: Introduces salad bar
1984: Where's the Beef? slogan debuts
1986: Near failure of 1/5 of Wendy's stores
1989: Super Value Menu debuts
1995: Acquires Tim Hortons
2002: Dave Thomas dies
2006: Wendy's divested itself of Tim Hortons
2007: Original Wendy's Restaurant closes
2008: Announces merger with Triarc

Slogans

US - Canada

1970 - present: Quality Is Our Recipe (This Slogan is still shown on the Wendy's logo today.)
1978 - 1979: Juicy hamburgers
1979 - 1980: Hot-N-Juicy
1980 - 1981: Wendy's Has the Taste You Crave
1981 - 1982: Ain't No Reason to Go Anyplace Else
1982 - 1983: You're Wendy's Kind of People
1983 - 1984: Parts is parts
1984 - 1986: Where's the beef?
1986 - 1987: Choose Fresh, choose Wendy's
1987 - 1993: Give a little nibble
1989 - 1998: The best burgers and a whole lot more (also was printed inside the hamburger wrappers during the 1990s)
1997 - Present: You can eat great, even late
2001 - 2005: It's hamburger bliss.
2002 - 2005: It's better here
2003 - 2007: It's Always Great, Even Late. (Canada)
2005 - 2007: Do what tastes right. (primary slogan)
2005 - Present: It's good to be square.
January 2007 - October 2007: That's right.
January 2007 - October 2007: Uh Huh.
2007 - 2008: Hot Juicy Burgers
February 2008: It's waaay better than fast food... It's Wendy's. (US)
February 2008: It's waaaaaaaaaay delicious. It's Wendy's. (Canada)
Present: You know when it's real

International

1983: It's the best time for...Wendy's (Philippines)
2000 (approx) - Present: We don't cut corners (New Zealand)
2000 (approx) - Present: Wendy's cuadra contigo (Wendy's fits with you). The word cuadra (fit) is a reference to the word cuadro that means square (Venezuela)
2001 (approx) - Present: El Sabor de lo Recien Hecho (The Flavor of the Freshly Made) (Honduras)
2007 (approx) - Present: Wendy's es Sensacional (Wendy's is Sensational) (El Salvador)
2008 - Present: It's not just fast food; it's fresh food, made fast [1] (Malaysia)
2008 - Present: Old Fashion Hamburgers (Dominican Republic)

Images for kids

The first Wendy's, in Downtown Columbus, Ohio, on its last day of operation (2007)
A busy front counter at a Wendy's restaurant in Niagara Falls, Ontario
A Wendy's restaurant in Kingston, Ontario, built just before the introduction of the new logo in 2012
Wendy's flagship restaurant in Dublin, Ohio
A Wendy's restaurant in Jakarta, Indonesia during a children's birthday party
A Wendy's outlet in Manila, Philippines
Wendy's past typeface