The Square Deal

Ever wonder why a Wendy’s® hamburger is square? Our founder Dave Thomas started Wendy’s in 1969 in Columbus, Ohio with a simple idea. Great food, served hot and fresh, by nice people. And the square thing? That came from his childhood role model, Grandma Minnie, who told him to Never Cut Corners. Dave didn’t have the easiest childhood. He was adopted as a baby and then his adoptive mother died when he was very young. His father remarried three times and often struggled to find a job so the family moved around frequently. Dave found solace and community in restaurants – he recalled being eight years old when he first dreamed of starting a restaurant where “everyone would love my food.” Today, we remain committed to his ideals like Quality is our Recipe® (and we still don’t cut corners), and Do the Right Thing. With his childhood as our example, our signature cause is foster care adoption and finding homes for the hundreds of thousands of children who are waiting in foster care to find their forever families. Interested in hearing more? We’ll use this space to give you The Square Deal™ – our views on food, quality, culture, children’s issues and doing our best to make Dave proud.

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Media & Communications

Words of Affirmation. To Go.
Focus on the details. Dave Thomas knew that was what was going to set Wendy’s apart. And that’s why he made sure that the details were accounted for in every restaurant—from sourcing quality ingredients and customizing any order any time, to delicious flavor combinations that leave you wanting more.

Diversity & Inclusion

Wendy’s Offers English as a Second Language Program for Employees
Maria Diaz and Cecelia Contreras are two Spanish-speaking employees who didn’t know very much English when they started working at Wendy’s. While they are both hard working employees, they asked not to work at the front register because they weren’t confident in their English. When I told Maria and Cecelia about the ESL program, they accepted right way and showed a lot of excitement about the chance to better themselves.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

WOSU Visits Wendy's Restaurant Support Center
The Wendy’s Family has always felt a responsibility to give back to our communities. Dave Thomas’ vision from day one was a focus on Quality, Doing the Right Thing and Giving Back. Every day our restaurant teams across the country and the employees at our Restaurant Support Center in Dublin, Ohio honor his legacy and strive to make him proud.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

How Wendy’s Wonderful Kids Recruiters Find Homes for Children in Foster Care
When you get familiar with the world of adoption, you form an appreciation for how complex it is. How many hurdles there are. And what kind of impact that has on real children, and real families.

Unfortunately, there is this idea floating around that children in foster care are simply “unadoptable.” To this idea, we say: no way. Not a chance.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Dave Thomas Featured in QSR Magazine's 20th Anniversary Issue
Dave’s success in business is outshined only by his work to raise awareness for foster care adoption and creating the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption (DTFA). The DTFA is a national public charity, with a mission to find permanent, loving homes for children in the foster care system.

Since 2004, more than 6,200 children have been adopted through the Foundation’s signature Wendy’s Wonderful Kids® program — a program that funds full-time adoption recruiters in every U.S. state, the District of Columbia and six Canadian provinces.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Barco and Wendy’s – A Shared Commitment to Improving the Lives of Children
Barco, Wendy’s uniform supplier, has not only been a great supplier to our system, but a great partner to our brand charity of choice, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption® (DTFA). Barco started their Hats Off program several years ago and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of every Wendy’s crew hat is donated to the DTFA. Their founder, Michael Donner, is also on the DTFA’s Supplier Advisory Council. Everyone at Wendy’s is thankful to have Barco as a partner on our journey to find forever families for children in foster care.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

A Commitment Never to Cut Corners: The Wendy’s Supplier Code of Conduct
Since our founding by Dave Thomas in 1969, Wendy's has always operated under a core set of values which begin and end with a commitment to Quality. These values extend beyond the walls of our restaurants, and Restaurant Support Center, to the long-standing, collaborative relationships we have with our trusted suppliers.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Wendy’s Isn’t Chicken When It Comes to Quality
“Quality is Our Recipe” is more than a slogan hanging on the wall of our restaurants. It’s a constant commitment to improve the quality of our menu and make our customers really happy and crave the food we craft.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Kick Up Your Boots: Wendy’s Celebrates Cattle Ranchers at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Convention
Wendy's went to Nashville to attend the National Cattleman’s Beef Association (NCBA) annual convention and trade show to extend our relationships in the beef industry because this supply chain is pretty complex.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Wendy's: It's All About Food, Family & Community
By most standards, last week was busy. Not only did friends and fans tell us we won the internet with the most epic tweet of 2017 (their words, not ours), we also published our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability year-in-review. It was eye opening and enjoyable to look back and see all that our Wendy’s family had accomplished in 2016.

More from The Wendy's Company

  1. The Square Deal
    Ever wonder why a Wendy’s® hamburger is square? Our founder Dave Thomas started Wendy’s in 1969 in Columbus, Ohio with a simple idea. Great food...