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NEED TO KNOW
Wendy Thomas Morse was just 8-years-old when her dad started Wendy's
Dave Thomas' vision for a hamburger restaurant has become a globally recognized icon, which Wendy grew up alongside
Wendy tells PEOPLE about the history of the brand, from her family's perspective
Wendy Thomas Morse's life has taken twists and turns she could have never imagined.
The daughter of Wendy's founder Dave Thomas was only eight years old when her dad decided to chase his dream of opening a hamburger restaurant. From there, the family's lives changed forever, bringing Wendy into contact with people around the globe with a fondness for the food and memories the brand brings.
"He was previously at some other places, and KFC was his last stop. And then he decided to go for it. He just always had a dream, since he was a kid, of opening a hamburger restaurant and there were five kids. And he just was like, 'Okay, Wendy's an easy name to remember and that's what it's going to be,' " Wendy tells PEOPLE.
"He really just thought he would have five restaurants for the five of us kids, so we have a job when we get to that age. But he had a lot of friends in the KFC world who wanted to join with him. So I think that's how Wendy's kind of started growing, because he couldn't say no to his friends. It just happened organically, from what I remember."
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Growing up, the Thomas family spent lots of time at the restaurant in downtown Columbus, Ohio.
"What was really cool was that we'd get to eat the restaurant, which had hanging beads and newspapered tables. It was so cool. I just thought the place was really hip. And that was our life, we were always visiting the restaurants. My older siblings worked there from a young age, so it was kind of like a family thing."
Wendy's look for the brand's official photos, which the logo is based off of to this day, was also a family effort.
"My mom made my blue and white dress that you'll see on the logo. She put my hair up in pigtails with pipe cleaners, so they would stick straight up. My dad wanted something that everyone could remember," she shares.
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"The best part was that I got to miss school for a day," she laughs. "I was in third grade and had to go to downtown Columbus to get my picture taken, which took all day. I was like, 'My face really hurts from smiling,' that's how long it took."
Wendy knew the restaurant was popular locally growing up, but the magnitude of it didn't truly hit her until she went away to college.
"That's when I realized, 'They're everywhere now,' and how big the company had gotten. Before that, it was just our life. We never really thought about it. That was what we knew, is the hamburger restaurant."
Today, she and her siblings continue to be franchisees and remember the messages their dad imparted in them.
"My dad was always pointing out things that, how we get better and improve and you kind of just start remembering that stuff as a kid and bring it into your future life," she says. "It's been a real honor to have my name on there. It was a lot of work."
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When it came to branching out on their own, "My husband and I were having our first child and we lived in Columbia, South Carolina at the time, and my dad just said, 'Hey, you guys should be Wendy's franchisees" It took me a few minutes to make that decision and I was like, 'Okay, how do we do it?' "
"He goes, 'Well, you got to get qualified and fill out the paperwork and find your own bank because I'm not helping you,'" she laughs. "So it was a huge learning curve and we did it. We went to Texas and opened five restaurants at that time and then got to a point where my my siblings said, 'Hey, why don't we all get together and go and be Wendy's franchisees together?' So we moved back to Columbus and the five of us started with 15 restaurants in Columbus and now today we're at 35. We'll probably be at 40 by first quarter next year. We're growing, which is fun. And it's just in my blood. This is where I belong, in the Wendy's restaurants, which I love because I love our people and love our customers, so it fits well for me."
As for her favorite order from the fast good giant, Wendy admits, "It depends on the day."
"I go between a single, cheese, ketchup, tomato, lettuce only, or I'll do the spicy chicken, taco salad, or just the plain tacos, or chili. And of course, the fries. If you're having chili, you've got to have fries to dip them in."
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Wendy's is always growing and changing, which makes her "very excited for the future."
"We have a great brand. That's what I love about where my dad started with Wendy's and the partnership he had for the franchisees was very important to him because he wanted them to be successful, then he would be successful," she says.
"He always said, 'Make the pie bigger and everyone has a share.' He was a very giving guy. And I think that is how we are still today. We're a partnership. We all grow together, help each other, keep going and getting better every day."
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