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Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers sets itself apart from its competitors with a square, not round, hamburger that is always made with fresh (not frozen) hamburger meat.

Wendy's doesn't have a signature hamburger, or cute characters like competitor McDonald's Ronald McDonald or the Big Mac. However, it does quite well with word of mouth marketing that often highlight Wendy's fast food as simply fresher and better tasting.

Today, from a small Ohio burger and shake joint, begun by founder Dave Thomas - who named Wendy's after his young daughter - the company is currently the world's third largest hamburger fast food chain with approximately 6,700 locations employing 46,000 people worldwide.

Wendy's history

Soft-spoken Dave Thomas opened the first Wendy's in 1969, almost a decade late to the game, compared to most of today's other more successful fast food chains in a highly competitive industry.

Yet Wendy's straightforward tagline "Quality is our Recipe" rang true with thousands of new devotees, as Wendy franchises began opening nationwide throughout the 70's.

Explosive growth only later came in the 80's with a new ad campaign that hitched its star to the catchphrase "Where's the beef?" that went up directly against its major competitors cookie-cutter approach to fast food. The famous line quickly entered mainstream pop culture and could be heard everywhere as a three-word critique of anything that was considered thin or skimpy. It was even used by Walter Mondale in a debate with Gary Hart in the Democratic primary election that year, which further served to nationally promote Wendy's hamburgers.

Wendy's never gain returned to its glory days of advertising that was the "Where's the beef?" campaign, although TV commercials featuring affable founder Dave Thomas which immediately followed proved very popular.

Upon Thomas' death in 2002, Wendy's lost its way with a weak campaign featuring a "Mr. Wendy" character, but since then has returned to its roots focusing on Wendy's square hamburgers to set itself apart from its competitors.

In 2008, the company announced a merger with Triarc, the parent company of Arby's. Following the merger, Triarc became known as Wendy's/Arby's Group.

Wendy's menu

Hamburger combo, Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger, Double Stack, chicken sandwiches and wraps, boneless buffalo chicken wings, chicken nuggets, fish filet sandwich, chicken salad, taco salad

Sides - Chili, side salad, side Caesar salad, stuffed baked potatoes, french fries

Beverages - Frosties and shakes, Coca Cola, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, root beer, iced tea, lemonade, coffee, tea, hot cocoa, chocolate milk

Wendys Locations Worldwide:

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More about Wendy's around the Web:

Wendys.com - The official site with information on current specials, deals, contests and sweepstakes, menu and nutrition information, locations finder, company history and trivia, job listings and franchise ownership guide.

Wendy's - Wikipedia - A complete overview including early history, successful product launches and information on advertising campaigns with photos, related references and resources.

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