Wendy's has some of the most popular menu items in fast food, from the Baconator to
the Frosty. Though the menu has changed less than other fast food joints, incredible additions
have appeared over the years. Here's what Wendy's menu looked like the year you were
born.
Dave Thomas opened the first Wendy's restaurant on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Thomas's
goal was to serve fresh, hearty meals in a quick-service setting. The first restaurant's
menu had just five items: A hamburger, French fries, soft drinks, chili, and the now-famous
frozen dessert known as the Frosty. Impressively, all of these items have remained on the menu,
without interruption, to this day. A year after Thomas founded the first Wendy's, a
second location opened, also in Columbus. By the late 1970s, the chain was well on its
way to becoming a fast-food giant, with more than 1,500 restaurants across North America.
While hamburgers weren't new by the time Wendy's arrived on the scene, the restaurant's burgers
were unique for the square shape of its beef patties. This was not done by accident. Thomas
believed that what separated Wendy's from its competitors was the freshness and quality
of its ingredients, most notably the beef used for its hamburgers. He insisted the patties
be square shaped so that customers could see the high-quality beef sticking out from the
rounded bun. The square shape is also symbolic of Wendy's commitment to not cut corners when
it comes to using fresh ingredients.
"Where's the beef?!"
Wendy's commitment to fresh ingredients went beyond the beef it used in burger patties.
The restaurant was also well known for the fresh lettuce and tomatoes it put atop its
burgers. It was a natural transition to begin serving fresh greens as a standalone meal
in 1979. That’s when Wendy's became the first fast-food restaurant to have a salad
bar.
The salad bar went against the fast-food model, in which restaurants try to get customers
in and out as quickly as possible. Instead, this encouraged patrons to take their time
serving themselves and dining. Nevertheless, it proved to be a hit with customers. The
salad bar remained a popular restaurant feature in Wendy's franchises throughout the 1980s.
During the 1980s, consumers' tastes began to move towards more healthy foods. Wendy's
responded with the baked potato, a somewhat healthier tater option, at least compared
to French fries, which were both higher in calories and fried in fatty oil. The baked
potato represents nearly twice as much food by weight as any order of Wendy's French fries,
though both come out at roughly the same number of calories.
Baked potatoes did come at a cost for Wendy's, however. It created logistical hurdles for
restaurant operators, so much so that the chain needed to add new convection ovens to
each of its franchises to cook them. But it's apparently been worth it, as Wendy's sells
more than one million baked potatoes every week.
The salad bar proved to be so successful that in 1988, Wendy's upped the ante with its new
creation, the Superbar. In addition to the usual salad and fruit station, known as the
"Garden Spot," the Superbar also offered Mexican and Italian stations, named "Mexican Fiesta"
and "Pasta Pasta."
This expansion of the salad bar was extremely popular with customers, most likely because
of its low price. In fact, its popularity may have actually led to its demise. Keeping
a functioning buffet fully stocked and cleaned while also maintaining over-the-counter services
was a tall task for many franchisees and employees. Still, the Superbar managed to last about
a decade before it disappeared from Wendy's menu.
Nowadays, ultra-affordable prices are so ubiquitous that it's difficult to imagine a fast-food
chain not having a dedicated selection of items priced around one dollar. But it wasn't
McDonald's or Burger King that came up with the idea, even though they had been around
for decades prior. Wendy’s was the first to take the plunge when it unveiled its value
meal in 1989.
When it was first introduced in October 1989, the Super Value Menu consisted of nine different
items. The offerings rotated amongst a variety of offerings, but you could usually find Wendy's
classics like baked potatoes to Frosties on the menu at any given time.
The fact that value meals are still a prominent part of fast food restaurant menus today proves
that Wendy's was on to a good idea, though it took time for Wendy's competitors to catch
on. Burger King rolled out its value menu in 1998, while McDonald's dragged its feet
until its dollar menu debuted in 2002.
In an attempt to further expand its healthier meal options, the chain debuted a grilled
chicken sandwich in the summer of 1990. Although the restaurant already offered other chicken
items, such as chicken nuggets, the non-breaded, non-fried sandwich presented a new option
for increasingly health-conscious consumers.
The other notable change in Wendy's food that year was also health-related. Wendy’s, along
with McDonald's and Burger King, announced that it would change the type of oil used
to make its French fries. Instead of frying its potatoes in fatty beef tallow and vegetable
oil blends, the restaurant would use 100 percent corn oil going forward. Wendy's was already
using vegetable oil to fry its chicken and fish, but finding oil that could cook French
fries and deliver a comparable taste took time.
While Wendy's salad bar had been popular for much of the previous two decades, fewer people
were looking at fast-food eateries as dine-in restaurants. By the 1990s, the percentage
of dual-income households in the United States was reaching an all-time high, at roughly
60 percent. With both parents working, convenience became a priority when it came to food. The
drive-thru window surged in popularity as a result.
To make salads more accessible to its customers, Wendy's introduced its new line of Fresh Salads
to Go in 1992. The first four salad offerings were Grilled Chicken, Taco Caesar, Deluxe
Garden, and Side Salads. At the same time, Wendy's was eliminating its salad bars across
the country. The Superbar was discontinued in 1998 and all salad bars were gone from
restaurants by 2006.
In 1995, just a few years after the debut of the grilled chicken sandwich, the restaurant
unveiled its new spicy chicken sandwich, which became a permanent menu item the following
year.
"Wendy's Spicy Chicken. Yeah, it's different. 'Cause Dave's different. He's a rebel. They
zig. He zags."
According to Wendy's, the sandwich's signature spice flavor is derived from a blend of black
pepper, chili pepper, and mustard seed. Topped with lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise between
a toasted bun, the delectable meal was an immediate hit.
The spicy chicken sandwich has remained a staple of the Wendy's menu to this day. While
the restaurant has unveiled a number of other chicken sandwiches over the years, it's the
spicy version that has long been a bestseller for the restaurant chain.
Trying to diversify its non-beef menu, Wendy's rolled out a new line of chicken and vegetarian
sandwiches in the late 1990s. The popularity of wraps was booming during this time, so
Wendy's developed its own take on the trend with Fresh Stuffed Pitas in 1997. The four-item
line consisted of chicken Caesar, ranch chicken, classic Greek, and garden veggie pitas. All
four were made to order and wrapped in heated flatbread.
The product helped Wendy's attract new customers who normally wouldn't turn to fast food to
satisfy their cravings, particularly women, who had traditionally opted for low-fat, vegetarian
options. By November of 1997, Wendy's claimed that pita sales had met or exceeded its own
expectations. Nevertheless, the pitas did not make a lasting impression with Wendy's
decision-makers. The restaurant chose to remove the Fresh Stuffed Pita line, and the sandwiches
haven't been seen since.
While Wendy's was a pioneer in many aspects of the fast-food world, they were rather late
to the game when it came to kids' meals. The restaurant didn't begin offering children's
menu options until relatively recently. For comparison, McDonald's had already debuted
its famous Happy Meal way back in the 1970s.
In the early 2000s, Wendy's added reduced-fat white milk and low-fat chocolate milk to its
menu as alternatives to soft drinks. In addition, fresh fruit cups with honeydew melon and cantaloupe
chunks were available in lieu of a side of French fries.
Although it wasn't the first restaurant with children-specific menu items, Wendy's did
break ground in one area related to kids' meals. It was the first fast-food restaurant
to offer milk in plastic grab-and-go packaging.
Just one year after unveiling its kids' meal in 2003, Wendy's rolled out new options for
its combo meals. The new Wendy's Combo Meal Choices Menu allowed customers to order a
small chili, baked potato, or one of two side salads in their combo meal for no extra charge.
Previously, combo meals only came with French fries as a side.
At the time, the Wendy's menu had eight combo meals, featuring hamburgers, chicken sandwiches,
and Homestyle Chicken Strips. The new side dish choices created 40 different ways to
mix and match a combo meal. Wendy's said this new approach would change the way people think
about combo meals.
Wendy's delicious fan favorite Frosty, a cross between a milkshake and soft-serve ice cream,
is one of the most iconic fast food items ever. Founder Dave Thomas wanted a dessert
so thick customers had to eat it with a spoon. Needless to say, he succeeded.
The Frosty has been on the menu since day one, dating all the way back to the opening
of the first Wendy's restaurant in 1969. But, for the first 36 years of its existence, this
frozen treat came in just one flavor: Chocolate. That all changed in 2006 when Wendy's finally
added a vanilla flavor to its Frosty lineup.
A vanilla Frosty wasn't the only gift Wendy's gave us that year. The chain also rolled out
a brand-new line of Frescata sandwiches. The menu addition was available in four varieties:
Frescata Club, Turkey with Basil Pesto, Black Forest Ham and Swiss, and Roasted Turkey with
Swiss. Each came with a distinctive sauce and was served on freshly made artisan bread.
A name like "Baconator" is bound to get even the most jaded fast food fan's attention,
even after many years of staring at the Wendy's menu. After biting into Wendy's new creation,
many customers were not disappointed.
In 2007, the restaurant chain unleashed the Baconator, which boasted six strips of hickory-smoked
bacon covering a half-pound beef patty with American cheese, ketchup, and mayonnaise.
Wendy's also unveiled a new advertising campaign to promote the Baconator. The combination
of a catchy name, great product, and media blitz resulted in big numbers for the chain.
Wendy's reported that it sold nearly 25 million Baconators in North America in just the first
eight weeks after its introduction.
Naturally, given all the excitement, the Baconator is still on the Wendy's menu today, alongside
its slightly smaller companion burger, the Son of Baconator.
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