intrigued by its square patty and its loveable creator for years. The food chain has been

around since 1969 and has managed to keep a loyal following. However, like every fast

food chain, Wendy’s has its secrets. Then again, everyone has their secrets and sometimes

it’s the secrets that make us love them more. Wendy’s has done nothing but improve

themselves year after year. This is why the franchise is still so popular. But, after

learning about some of the shady things that this restaurant has been involved in, will

it still be as popular? Probably. So, here are the Top 10 Untold Truths about Wendy’s.

Wendy’s Chili Is Made Of What?

Wendy’s constantly brags about their award-winning chili. However, we have to wonder, should

they be bragging at all? After learning some weird facts about the chili, we got to wonder

if it should even still be on the menu. It has been reported by the Huffington Post that

the company uses silicon dioxide in their chili. So, that grainy look your chili has

is probably just that. The chemical we are talking about is also called silica and can

be found in quartz and sand. Silicon dioxide also acts as an “anti-caking agent”. So,

if you are ever wondering why your chili never clumps and always has that watery, ‘fresh’

look to it, this is why. But, don’t hate on Wendy’s too much for using an anti-caking

agent because chances are several other fast food places use it too. Really, even regular

restaurants probably use it too. We will admit though, that whole sand-looking thing is kind

of crazy. We truly assumed that it was seasoning or maybe super small pieces of ground beef.

But sand and quartz? That is a whole other level.

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Wendy’s Founder In A Commercial

The founder of Wendy’s Dave Thomas was deep into retirement when he decided to come back

and help the brand. They were having a bit of a hard time keeping up with the other fast

food chains. They weren’t as popular as McDonald's or Burger King or even Jack In

The Box. so ride or die Thomas wasn’t about to let his legacy go down in flames. He resigned

in 1982 but when the popular “Where’s The Beef?” campaign ended in 1985, the company

needed a facelift. Always a dedicated employee of his own company, Thomas came out of retirement

to help out. He didn’t jump into commercials right away he started off small by visiting

a few restaurants first. He did the whole taking pictures with fans, kissing babies

kind of thing. In 1989, he became the official spokesperson and from there he spent a majority

of the 90s representing the brand. He actually appeared in more than 800 commercials for

Wendy’s before going back into retirement. Thomas eventually passed away in 2002 from

a tumor that he had been battling for about 10 years. It ultimately spread to his liver

and took his life. However, at the time of his passing, there were 6,000 Wendy’s restaurant

locations around the US and Canada. So at the very least, his legacy is secured.

Wendy’s Is A Bit Dicey When It Comes To The LGBTQ Community

We all know that before Ellen DeGeneres had this insanely popular talk show, she had a

sitcom. It was called Ellen and it had some pretty decent ratings. Then, DeGeneres came

out and let’s just say, all hell broke loose. In addition to her show being pulled, the

actor was blacklisted and treated as a social pariah. And one of the organizations that

bailed on DeGeneres and her show was the restaurant chain Wendy’s. Wendy’s pulled all their

support from the show which to be honest was really only advertising during commercial

breaks. Regardless, without good ads and a lack of support, the show went under rather

quickly. The LGBTQ community quickly boycotted the food chain. We have to be honest, we never

took founder Dave Thomas to be a hater. He has such a loving and accepting face. So,

we have a hard time believing he had a hand in this. We think it was more so whoever took

over. That being said, he was the face of the company and took most of the backlash.

This isn’t the first or the last time a restaurant chain decided to put their controversial

views out there. And, this isn’t the first or last time that a mass of people will boycott

them for doing so.  

Wendy’s Had The First Dollar Menu

McDonald's dollar menu is probably one of the most common and most loved of all the

dollar menus. Burger King is probably coming in second. However, most people don’t know

that it was Wendy’s that pioneered the popularity of the dollar menu in the first place. The

franchise first started their dollar menu in 1989. Back then it wasn't known as a dollar

menu. It was just a menu where every item costs the same price; 99 cents. Wendy’s

also didn’t call their menu the dollar menu and they still don’t. They actually called

it their Value Menu. So, in 1998, Burger King decided to follow suit and then in 2002, McDonald's

jumped on the bandwagon as well. Better late than never right? Wendy’s still has a Value

Menu but it’s now called the “Everyday Value Menu”. We aren’t really sure the

“every day” was needed but, okay. The menu has even upgraded itself from when it

originally started (well we would hope so anyway). They have nachos, nuggets, wraps,

hearty burgers that are actually dressed as regular burgers (with tomatoes, lettuce, etc).

They even have their signature Frosty on there. There is no question that they are still in

the running for one of the best dollar menus out there. You can actually get a whole meal

for $5 and some change.

Wendy’s Original Location Is No More

In 2007, the original Wendy’s location was closed. It was located in Columbus, Ohio which

is where Dave Thomas was born and raised. The location was open for 38 years. However,

once they merged with Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons there’s a significant drop in

sales. The decision was eventually made to just close the doors and let it go. Dare we

accuse the popular Canadian coffee chain of ruining the founding Wendy’s location? It

seems somewhat rash to just get rid of the first ever Wendy’s spot. One would assume

that there should have been a bigger fight to keep it open. Maybe even make it a historical

site. It’s clearly too late for all that now but we have to wonder if any of that came

into discussion when the decision was being made to shut it down. The building was also

eventually knocked down and rebuilt. It cost $1.7 million to renovate and it’s now the

headquarters of the city’s Catholic Foundation. We really thought that Ohio would rally around

a place that kind of put them on the map. However, we can’t blame them, there are

so many other, tasty food chains. We can understand why and how Wendy’s fell by the wayside

in this case.

Wendy’s Breakfast?

Did you know that Wendy’s serves breakfast? We sure didn’t. Apparently, starting in

1985 Wendy’s debuted their breakfast menu. It was an epic flop and the company decided

to just stick with burgers and fries oh and Frosty’s too. In 2007, they decided to give

it another go. Because…Why not? McDonald's has breakfast, Burger King has breakfast.

Even Taco Bell has breakfast. Yet, they failed again but this time instead of cutting all

restaurants off of their luxurious breakfast, they decided to give a handful of restaurants

the pleasure of continuing to serve it. About a dozen restaurants scattered throughout the

US currently serve the breakfast menu. So, what does it consist of? Biscuit sandwiches,

breakfast burritos, muffins, and hash browns. It does sound kind of lackluster. And to be

honest, the bread for the sandwiches looks kind of dry. They also recently rolled out

a panini though. The good thing about their breakfast is that it tends to be lower calorie

and according to loyal eaters, It always comes out fresh. Due to lack of interest, it is

made on demand during the breakfast hours. We can only assume that this is the best it

will get for this brand and their breakfast. At least they know how to quit while they’re

ahead.

Wendy's Kind Of Invented The Drive-Thru

Back in 1971 Wendys was ahead of their time. They came up with this crazy idea that would

allow people to not have to leave their car to get their food. We now know it as a drive-thru.

Every fast food place has one and some places that aren’t even fast food has figured out

how to utilize this invention. It looks like Dave Thomas was really trying to be the first

for everything. McDonald’s didn’t catch onto the drive-thru window until about 1975.

There is still a debate as to who really invented the first drive-thru window though. Some folks

say it was a place called the Pig Stand way back in 1931. The founder saw the need for

a faster way to serve his customers and of course, he found a way that worked for him.

Then in the 1950s both Jack In The Box and Burger King experimented with the idea. However,

they found it too complicated and it didn’t work. So they jumped ship pretty quick. By

the time Wendy’s rolled around and took control of the idea they had managed to perfect

it. Well, perfect it for them anyways. They’ve been utilizing

it since.

Letters To Wendy’s

Wendy’s has a book. Well, not Wendy’s but it’s written by a man obsessed with

Wendy’s. His name is Joe Wenderoth and the book is called “Letters To Wendy’s”

he took it upon himself to write an entire novel based off of four things. Burgers, Frosties,

erotica, and consumerism. Yes, because all those things naturally go together, obviously.

According to Amazon.com, the book is pretty interesting. The reviews range from love to

confusion. “Letters to Wendy’s is an outrageous, tragic, genre-bending novel written over the

course of a year on comment cards from the fast-food chain restaurant Wendy’s. Through

the letters, the book traces a year in the life and thoughts of an unnamed narrator obsessed

not only by Biggies and Frosties, but also by consumerism, pornography, and mortality”.

We have a few questions about this book. How does the franchise feel about this? Wenderoth

is associating their restaurant with salacious things like adult content. He is also mixing

it into consumerism and he is doing this all on Wendy’s comment cards. The book was released

in 2004. The author, Wenderoth has gone on to write a few other books but we have a feeling

he will forever be known for writing a book about a fast food chain.

Wendy’s Fired An Old Lady

Wendy’s has had one of the most popular advertising campaigns of all time. We all

know it, have seen it or at the very least, heard about it. The “Where’s The Beef”

campaign dominated the 80s. Even to this day, society still references it. And Wendy’s,

of course, saw an increase in sales. The campaign featured this adorable, little, old lady named

Clara Peller. She was 84-years-old and had been chosen to do the campaign after randomly

auditioning. However, after a year of going hard for Wendy’s, she was fired. In 1985,

after Peller decided she was super famous, she appeared in another commercial and Wendy’s

wasn’t having it. It wasn’t just any commercial it was a commercial for Prego spaghetti sauce.

In addition to that betrayal, in the commercial, she actually said she had “finally found”

the beef. That was a straight up dig and of course, it backfired on her. The actress went

on to keep a little bit of her fame and eventually passed away in 1987. For a little old lady,

she certainly had a lot of drama in her later life. At least she went out with a bang that’s

more than other people her age can say.

Wendy’s Has A Secret Menu

Want to try something out of the ordinary? Well, Wendy’s may be able to help you because

they have a secret menu. Like many food establishments, their secret menu has a lot going on. According

to employees, some of the secret menu items include; a one-pound Meat Cube burger and

a Barnyard Burger which has beef, bacon, and chicken in it. The secret menu items are pretty

protein packed. A lot of them have 2 to 3 different meats on one sandwich. Clearly,

this can be highly caloric. But, because you can control a lot of what happens to your

secret menu options, you can get a lighter sandwich and still be satisfied. One of those

sandwiches is called the Valley Crispy Chicken Sandwich. It comes with mayo, tomato, lettuce,

and bacon. We also assume that you can ask for grilled chicken if you are trying to stick

to a diet. And like we mentioned there’s also the sandwich called the “Meat Cube”.

It’s worth noting because quite frankly it sounds like it can’t be healthy for anyone.

It’s one pound of meat and to make matters even worse, there is cheese in between each

slice. Come on, you know you want to try it or at least watch someone else try it, so

you can avoid the heart attack.

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