Colonel Sanders' protégé left KFC to set up famous fast food chain named after daughter
Niamh Spence
Featured Image Credit: Peter Power/Toronto Star via Getty Images
You may think you knew everything about the world's favourite fast food giants, but there's one origin story that provides some unexpected crossover you likely never knew about.
Before he built one of the biggest burger brands in the US, Dave Thomas was actually working for Colonel Sanders himself, having once been a key player at KFC.
Back in the 1950s, Thomas was working at the Hobby House restaurant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he worked his way up to assistant manager.
He crossed paths with Colonel Harland Sanders after the restaurant its first franchise from Sanders - a move that would go on to shape his career in ways he could never have expected.
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By 1962, Thomas was offered the chance to rejuvenate four failing KFC restaurants in Columbus, Ohio, with Sanders quickly becoming one of his most important mentors in the process.
After taking up the challenge, Thomas went on to help shape KFC into a national name, convincing Sanders to become the face of the brand - literally - and shaping this into the now-iconic logo.
He also came up with some major marketing moves, like the famous rotating bucket sign, and simplified the menu so it was easier to sell and scale. In short, he turned KFC from a local hit into a fast food powerhouse.
It would be easy to assume Thomas would have happily stayed at KFC to continue climbing the career ladder, but after making his mark, he sold his franchises back to the company and decided to do his own thing.
In 1969, he opened a small burger joint in Columbus, Ohio and named it after his daughter, Melinda 'Wendy' Thomas. Her nickname and signature red pigtails became the face of Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers, which eventually became the simplified Wendy's we know today.
Wendy’s came with a fresh twist as Thomas insisted on using fresh ingredients, and this included never serving up frozen beef. Burgers were also served in square patties that hung over the edges of the bun, giving the menu a compelling, unique selling point.
It was a bold move in a fast food world full of round burgers, but it paid off fast. People loved the quality, the family vibe, and the no-nonsense approach, and Wendy's quickly became a fast food hit.
Like his old mentor Colonel Sanders, Thomas eventually became the star of his own ads. His friendly style made him a household name through the 80s and 90s, including the iconic Wendy’s 'Where’s the Beef?' campaign, which then became one of the most legendary fast food slogans ever.
By the time Thomas passed away in 2002, Wendy’s had grown into one of the biggest burger chains in the world, having traded in bird for beef to leave a lasting legacy on the food industry.