Behind McDonald’s and Burger King, Wendys is the “other” fast food chain. However, Dave Thomas’s restaurant created many of fast food’s most popular and long-lasting menu items.
Wendy’s pioneered value menus, salad bars, and spicy chicken sandwiches. Unexpectedly, the restaurant has had a few notable flops. Even discontinued meals were popular at the time. Wendys has kept a unique side dish and a popular dessert on its menu since 1969. Which may be its most impressive feat. The restaurant has always known how to create a menu.
1969-1978: Wendys Debuts With Five Items
Dave Thomas founded Wendys in Columbus, Ohio, on November 15, 1969. According to Ohio History Central. Thomas wanted to serve quick-service, hearty meals. The first restaurant’s menu consisted of a hamburger, French fries, soft drinks, chili, and Frosty, the now-famous frozen dessert. Unbelievably, all of these items are still on the menu. Columbus’ second Wendys opened a year after Thomas’ first. The chain had more than 1,500 restaurants in North America by the late 1970s.
By the time Wendy’s opened, hamburgers weren’t new. But Wendys beef patties were square. No mistake. Thomas believed Wendy’s fresh ingredients, especially its hamburger beef, set it apart from its competitors. He wanted square patties so customers could see the high-quality beef through the rounded bun. Wendys Coupons dedication to fresh ingredients is also symbolized by the square shape.
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1979-1982: Wendy’s Opens The First Fast Food Salad Bar
Wendys fresh ingredients went beyond beef burger patties. The restaurant was known for its fresh lettuce and tomatoes on burgers. After Wendys opened the first fast-food salad bar in 1979. Serving greens as a meal was natural.
The salad bar defied the fast food model. Which prioritizes speed. This encouraged customers to take their time serving and eating. Customers loved it. Wendys salad bars were popular throughout the 1980s. Wendy's salad bar was soon copied by other fast food chains.
The salad bar defied the fast food model. Which prioritizes speed. This encouraged customers to take their time serving and eating. Customers loved it. Wendys salad bars were popular throughout the 1980s. Wendy's salad bar was soon copied by other fast food chains.
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1983–1987: Wendys Adds Baked Potatoes
Wendys first menu included chili, a rarity in quick-service restaurants. Given its cooking time, a baked potato is not fast food either.
In the 1980s, consumers started eating healthier. Wendys baked potato was healthier than french fries, which were higher in calories and fried in fatty oil. The baked potato weighs nearly twice as much as Wendys french fries. But both have about the same calories, according to Thrillist.
Wendy’s paid for baked potatoes. It was so difficult to cook that the chain had to add convection ovens to each franchise. Wendy’s sells over one million baked potatoes per week (Reader’s Digest), so it was worth it. However, there are also some latest franchise opportunities in India for those who want to get Wendy’s franchise license.
1988: Wendy’s Superbar Debuts
Wendys introduced the Superbar in 1988 after the salad bar’s success. The Christian Science Monitor said the Superbar turned the restaurant’s salad bar into a buffet. The Superbar had “Mexican Fiesta” and “Pasta Pasta” stations in addition to the “Garden Spot” salad and fruit station. Wendy’s went multi-cuisine overnight.
Customers loved this salad bar expansion due to its low price. Popularity may have killed it. Fast food workers struggled to stock and clean a buffet while providing over-the-counter services. Wendys Superbar lasted a decade before disappearing.
1989: Wendys Introduces Value Meals
Fast food’s hallmark is affordability. The value meal epitomizes that. Nowadays, ultra-affordable prices are so common that. It’s hard to imagine a fast food chain without a dollar menu. Despite being around for decades, McDonald’s and Burger King didn’t come up with the idea. Wendy’s was the first to offer a value meal in 1989, according to QSRweb.
The Super Value Menu started with nine items in October 1989. The menu rotated, but Wendys classics like baked potatoes and Frosty were always available.
Though Wendy’s competitors were slow to catch on, value meals are still a staple of fast food menus. Proving Wendy’s was right. McDonald’s delayed its dollar menu until 2002, while Burger King launched its value menu in 1998.
1990-1991: Wendy’s Introduces A Chicken Sandwich
Wendys menu changed in the new decade. In the summer of 1990. The chain introduced a grilled chicken sandwich to offer healthier options. The restaurant already offered chicken nuggets, but the non-breaded, non-fried sandwich gave health-conscious customers a new option.
Wendy’s food had another health-related change that year. Wendys, McDonald’s, and Burger King changed their french fry oil. According to the Washington Post. The restaurant would fry potatoes in 100% corn oil instead of beef tallow and vegetable oil blends. Wendy’s already fried chicken and fish in vegetable oil. But finding one that could fry french fries took time.
1992-1996: Wendys Fresh Salads To Go
Wendys to-go salads came from customers’ desire for healthier options. Wendy’s salad bar had been popular for decades, but fewer people were eating at fast-food restaurants. According to Pew Research, dual-income households reached a record 60% in the 1990s. Food was convenient because both parents worked. According to Serious Eats, the drive-thru became popular.
In 1992, Wendys launched Fresh Salads to Go to make salads more accessible. Grilled Chicken, Taco Caesar, Deluxe Garden, and Side Salads started the menu (via The Columbus Dispatch). Wendy’s was also removing salad bars nationwide.
1996: Wendy’s Adds The Spicy Chicken Sandwich
Wendys added chicken sandwiches quickly after previous successes. The restaurant introduced its spicy chicken sandwich in 1995, a few years after the grilled chicken sandwich. The following year, it became a permanent menu item. Burger King, Chick-fil-A, and Popeyes all serve chicken sandwiches, some of which are spicy.
Wendys 2015 press release says the sandwich’s spice comes from black pepper, chili pepper, and mustard seed. The tasty toasted bun sandwiched with lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise was a hit. Wendy’s still serves the spicy chicken sandwich. The restaurant chain’s best-selling chicken sandwich is spicy.
1997–2000: Wendys Introduces Fresh Stuffed Pita
Wendys introduced chicken and vegetarian sandwiches in the late 1990s to expand its non-beef menu. In 1997, Wendy’s introduced Fresh Stuffed Pitas to capitalize on the wrap craze (via Encyclopedia.com). The Spokesman-Review listed Chicken Caesar, ranch chicken, classic Greek, and garden veggie pitas. Flatbread wrapped all four.
Wendys gained new customers. Especially women who preferred low-fat, vegetarian food, with the product. Wendy’s said pita sales exceeded expectations by November 1997. The pitas didn’t impress Wendys decision-makers. Fans signed a Change.org petition to bring back the Fresh Stuffed Pitas after the restaurant discontinued them. The sandwiches disappeared.
2001–2003: Kids’ Meals Are Menu Highlights
Wendys was a fast food pioneer. But they were late to the kids’ meal game. The restaurant started offering kids’ menus recently. According to Time magazine, McDonald’s introduced its Happy Meal in the 1970s.
Wendy’s introduced low-fat white and chocolate milk as alternatives to soft drinks in the early 2000s. According to QSR magazine. Instead of fries, honeydew, and cantaloupe fruit cups were offered. Milk and fruit cost the same as soda and fries.
Wendys was one of the first restaurants to offer kids’ meals. It offered plastic-packaged milk first (via Dairy Foods). One year-long study found that elementary and secondary school children drank more milk in to-go containers and different flavors.
2004–2005: Wendys Introduces Combo Meals
New menu items were for everyone. Wendys introduced new combo meal options in 2004, QSR magazine reports. Wendy’s new Combo Meal Choices Menu lets customers add a small chili, baked potato, or one of two side salads for free. French fries were the only side dish for combo meals.
Wendys had eight combo meals with hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, and Homestyle Chicken Strips. New side dishes allowed 40 combo meal combinations. Wendy’s claimed this approach would change combo meal perceptions. “Everyone wants variety in their combo meals from time to time,” said Wendy’s North America’s then-president and COO Tom Mueller. “We think this approach will set Wendy’s apart.”
2006: Wendy’s Introduces Vanilla Frostys
Wendys Frosty, a milkshake-soft-serve hybrid, is one of the most famous fast food items. A Wendy’s executive said founder Dave Thomas wanted a dessert so thick customers needed a spoon. He succeeded, delighting Frosty fans.
Most impressively, Wendys first restaurant opened in 1969 with Frosty on the menu. This frozen treat was only chocolate for 36 years. Wendy’s added vanilla Frostys in 2006.
Wendy’s gave us more than vanilla Frosties that year. A 2006 press release announced a new Frescata sandwich line. Four menu items were offered: Frescata Club, Turkey with Basil Pesto, Black Forest Ham and Swiss, and Roasted Turkey with Swiss. Each was served on fresh artisan bread with a unique sauce.
2007: Wendys Baconator Is A Huge Hit
Even after years of staring at Wendys menu. “Baconator” will catch any fast food fan’s attention. Many customers enjoyed Wendy’s new dish.
The 2007 Baconator featured six strips of hickory-smoked bacon, American cheese, ketchup, and mayonnaise on a half-pound beef patty (via BusinessWire). Wendy’s launched a national TV, online, and cinema advertising campaign for the Baconator. The chain did well with a catchy name, great product, and media blitz. Wendys sold nearly 25 million Baconators in North America in its first eight weeks.
“This is one of the most successful new product introductions we’ve had,” said former CEO and President Kerrii Anderson. “We’re updating hamburger news. Thus, our hamburger business is booming.”
Given the excitement, Wendys still serves the Baconator and its smaller sibling, the Son of Baconator.
