What It Was Really Like To Eat At The First Wendy's 

What do you think of how Wendy's has evolved over the years?

You old people know we used to read the tables at the old Wendy's as kids.

I fondly remember eating lunch at the orignal Wendy's location as a kid. I grew up in Columbus and it was right across the street from COSI. Also met Dave Thomas while at a speaking event and he was a very inspiring man!

I remembered eating at Wendy's when I was a kid. The food was unlike anything that I have ever tasted! Their quality is excellent in my opinion. 😋🍔🍟🥤

Wendy's was AWESOME at first! Fresh, hot juicy burgers that truly were the best burgers in the business. Plus the original chili recipe. And ice cold frostys. Too bad what happened to a once awesome restaurant.

I miss their salad bar!

Wendy's is definitely an American original. Dave Thomas was a comedic genius and he knew what his customers wanted. Best Burgers around as far as fast food goes. They are pretty amazing. I miss his old commercials. Anyway the guy was an innovator!

Anybody remember their salad bar? I think about 1982..loved it...ohio

I miss Dave still until this day.. he was and still is Ohio’s hero‼️❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

The sad thing is that a medium combo now is 13 bucks

The old fries from the 1990s need to come back.

Chili and frosty were the best. Years later they had a chicken sandwich called The Monterey Chicken sandwich....and it was so good.

I lived next door to the second Wendy's to open (in Columbus Ohio) in 1970. The first was downtown. As they said, the decor was new for a hamburger restaurant, but turn of the century theme decor was quite popular at the time in other restaurants too. On the same strip was BBF (Burger Boy Food-a-Rama) Borden Burger, Arthur Treachers, Pizza Hut, and I think there was a White Castle too. When ANOTHER food joint - Wendy's - opened, everyone rolled their eyes, but the rest is history. And yes, Dave was flipping burgers there when he was first getting it up and running. It sure is an example of the great American success story.

Now I want a Dave's double with a frosty.

I remember going there in the 70s. Our family didn't have a bunch of money so it was a really special thing. The food was so good

In addition to the fancy lamps, each Wendy's restaurant had that front area with the greenhouse-style windows, 2 brass Casablanca Ceiling fans w/"schoolhouse" light kits in the 1980s - early 1990s...and my favorite: the all-you-can-eat Super-Bar! For those not old enough to have enjoyed the Super Bar, you missed out on one of the best features of oldschool Wendy's! I remember you could get ground M&Ms, Oreos, and (I think) butterfingers in the Frosties...this was discontinued and reintroduced a few times. I have no idea if they still do this or not...I'm guessing no.

I remember when Wendy's first open in my area, they used to charge individually for lettuce, tomato, onion and Dad couldn't afford it and took us to McDonald's. Now I'm a die hard Wendy's fanatic cause I love the Wendy's triple.

The food at Wendy’s is great fresh cooked well and delicious.

Wendy's was the first fast food restaurant opened within a short distance of my high school, which made it an instant success - that plus the fact that no one had tasted fast food burgers as good as what they were offering. It was fun to read the old newspaper advertisements printed on the tables. One of the great things about Wendy's up until about 10 or 15 years ago was they had a fairly decent AUCE salad bar.

57 and grew up in central Ohio . The old timey vibe was really fun , and the food was great. I still enjoy it . Being able to get a real potato and chili is still so unique for a fast food place

Wendy's was my favorite burger joint as a kid. But I also had an Aunt Wendy (RIP, I miss you) that used to look a lot like the mascot so it was fun pretending I knew the actual Wendy. The employees would be like, Oh, shit! She's real!

Spicy chicken sandwich is where it's at. Very simple sandwich but it lets the excellent chicken seasoning be the prominent taste.

Try finding a clean spot to eat your food at a fast food restaurant now. Dave Thomas would be disappointed these days. His restaurants aren’t holding up his standards in cleanliness or taste anymore. My last time there was over 10 years ago. Food was terrible, overly expensive and restaurants were always filthy. Other places aren’t any better, had to clean my own tables recently at Portillo’s, Naf Naf & McDonald,s. We rarely eat out but sometimes life happens and you need a quick bite. Truthfully, I’m always disappointed afterwards because it’s too salty and gross. I prefer to cook my own meals and have complete control over ingredients and enjoy good clean food. Afterwards, I’m always happy I made the effort because It’s worth it.

i go to wendy's for the spicy chicken sandwich. still the best chicken sandwich ever! i also miss a lot of there limited time burgers back in the day. Nacho chesee burger was amazing it was burgers dipped in nacho cheese sauce. gooey tasty fun.

When Wendy's changed in the early 2000s, the patties got thicker and the pickles got more brown and butter...it sealed my deal an Wendy's became my last resort. Only if I was dying would I eat there.

Wendy's is way overpriced now and lets be honest Yellow Packaging Wendy's was the best Wendy's era. I miss it so much.

We wore those uniforms when I worked there in 1980. Now they are different.

This video never even mentions Kewpie... Its where Dave got the entire idea for Wendy's and modeled the business after.. Kewpie has always had a better product, Dave was just a better salesman

I was there in 1969..every Saturday. I had a membership at COSI across the street for my weekend babysitter. A growing teenager appetite on a bicycle. I knew at first bite the Triple Cheeseburger was without peer on Earth. To this very day my go to for a meaty appetite. Still have that bicycle butt so it never became the "spare tire".

# WONDERFUL SALADS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really miss the SuperBar. If they were to bring it back, I would become a Wendy’s regular.

Steve Schirripa(Bobby Baccalieri) From The Soprano's at 3:24-25. Wendys Frosty. That's what I remember.

Love me some Wendy's! Got my mouth watering at 7:00 in the morning.

They used to have great burgers back in the 70’s and 80’s when they cooked your order when placed. You could watch the grill when ordering. Then like most chains went to precooked patties which killed it. Burgers are dry and tasteless now.

Don't sleep on Wendy's y'all! ♡

I really miss being able to substitute fries for salad, chili or what ever, I am that one person who is not a fan of the fries at every meal ? Have a great day!

I love this video. Now I'm hungry for Wendy's ♥️

I really liked the salad bar

i miss ohio i miss old ohio people in wendy's restaurants, gathering for a cup of chili and a small frostee.

Wendy's was my first job in the late 80's. They use have an apple dumpling dessert. I would put my frosty on top and have pie a la Mode.😋 I wish they would bring it back.

I think the history between Dave and Colonel Sanders is very cool

I've been to the first Wendy's often. Directly across Broad St from the Center 9f Science and Industry.

I remember when going to Wendy's you would specify each ingredient on your burger. There were no standard burgers like now

Wendy’s still make one of the best hamburgers out there

Dave Thomas learned how to handle high speed, high volume food production when he ran the ships mess in the Navy.

I miss the old early 80s design. The newspaper design on the tables and the old Victorian mood. I wish they would bring that back. It was like Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour. I totally missed out on the Superbar era. I wish I could've tried it.

I lived in Columbus for 10 years, Every Wendy's is pretty much the same. Also I grew up on Wendy's on every other Sunday in Akron.

Well done

02:17. I always loved sitting in the atrium area.

Didn't Wendy's use to have salad bars too? I swear I remember salad bars in Wendy's

I wish they would engage once again like they were. It's clear Chick-fil-A is very successful today even with Truett Cathy being gone for nearly 10 years now. Perhaps they can be the example Wendy's could inspire from and maybe their quality would return to what it was

I remember in 1988 we still had a restaurant with the old fashioned newspaper laminate. I wish the dining room was open at my nearest location [40 miles, mind you] to this day it's drive thru is closed by 7pm, district manager covering Coralville Iowa, you are losing out on sales, I want food appropriate temperature and am not going to let my frosty melt while I eat my burger, nor my fries get cold.. I found that Cedar Rapids has a better location near its southernmost Walmart. Surprisingly Oskaloosa has a location and Ottumwa doesn't, and Ottumwa has a larger population.

Cool😀

I miss the potato bread buns they had before Dave dead.

Krystal restaurants also serve square burgers

Dave was the inventor of the KFC bucket too many he RIP

I remember way back in 79, and it was really good, back then. Not anymore. The quality has badly slipped. It's also just one of the many reasons, i quit fast food.

Haven't eaten at Wendy's in a long time...

I thought the place was OK really.!! You should go. It's in Columbus, Ohio,

Wendy's chili is da bomb!

I knew this Wendy's made in American food restaurant now many branches in the Philippines 🇵🇭🇺🇸🍔🍟🌭🥪🍝🍦

I worked at wendys in 1982 when I was a senior in H.S. wendys was rising in popularity, then over their rivals, B.King, and Macdonalds, their burgers then were so much better tasting also . They also had the funniest commercial, with Clara Peller, saying "Where's the BEEF" I ate a Wendys recently how disappointing, the burger is half the size now, with small amts. Of condiments. Most fast food restaurants are lacking in quality.

I'll never go back to wendy's after my last visit

The original Wendy's location was ruined after Dave Thomas passed away. The employees and location became ghetto because corporate no longer cared, which lead to its demise.

Burgers that were good in the late '60s and early '70s: Jack in the Box, Wendy's, Burger King and even Taco Bell's Bell Burger (dropped from its menu decades ago, it was awesome). I won't eat at any of those places now -- and didn't like McDonald's since I had their 25-cent burger back around 1967. (Was sure they would never make it with that awful burger, haha!)

Wow! Imagine creating Wendy's AND Matchbox Twenty! What a legend!!

Do I dare say Wendys old was like In n out? You can taste fresh ground meat vs a frozen fast food cost savings burger. I am still amazed we have one Wendys place in town and they sell the biggie bag. Most others have gone away or are overpriced in CA. In n out has a $9 deal.

When the first Wendy's opened in Vancouver Canada, my buds and I, would head there on a Saturday afternoon, even though it was an hours drive, and just stuff ourselves. The burgers were so good. That was in the early 80's. Now in 2022 Unfortunately our local Wendy's is just not that great anymore. Not hot and juicey, kinda half cold, and lame. Did anyone ever explain putting the toppings and condiments on, to spread them out, rather than plopping then all down in one spot?? All the burger places are so lame these days!! Thank the lord we still have one Mom & Dad take out in our area, that does not put your burger on till you order it. toast the bun, fry the onions. Even though the they are busy, it really does not take that long. And you can still get a combo!! been in business since 1967, two years before Wendy's.

White Castle also square burger but smaller size

I grew up in Ohio and remember when the first Wendy's opened in Lima in the 1970's it was great when the burgers were made fresh unlike a lot of the microwave burgers you get now also I don't know if anyone remembers but there was a time when Wendy's had an all you could eat salad bar

Smart man

I luv Wendy!

What about the Wendy's buffet? I used to love those.

I really miss sitting in the solarium and eating the OLD fries!

RIP Dave Thomas

FAR better with thier Chili and potatoes plus salad bars !!

At least Wendy's Frosty machine ain't down like sum people's 😐

the Square patty comes from a way that ground beef was delivered in the late 40s and 50s this gimmick made one think of the store bought ground beef in times of the past this was a creative way to get some to look its deffrant may be better

What ever happened to all you can eat chili on Tuesday evening and all day Sunday?

What gas happend to Wendy's? It used to be super popular and now barely anyone goes now.

In 2000 they dropped the old Fashioned and the lettering too

What about yhe chicken and salad bars?

Hi friend 🥰

Big up my boy Wings of Redemption Jordie Jordan or just Richard to his friends….no one has worked harder to promo Wendy’s Chilli! Piiiiiiiiiiiiiimp!!

most Wendy's are franchises now. i think Wendy's only owns like 3% of the stores.

I used to eat at Wendy’s at least twice a week, I loved their burgers. Then about 11 years ago they changed the burgers, I think they changed the pickles onion and lettuce maybe even the mustard mayo and ketchup. I haven’t eaten at Wendy’s since. I don’t like the “improved” burgers.

Their food has gone down hill and quick. Messy, slopped together, and the bread isn't as good. The Bacon Classic of the 90's was amazing with the corn-meal crusted buns.

idk if its my headset but they way the over voice hits the S's made me back out of this video please check your audio it was nail piercing to sit through

And they introduced a Coca Cola mixer too.

Tea no bag. 😅😅😅

Old fashion tamburgers?

1:30

That sunroof area was atheistic af

I miss Wendy's from high school in the 2000s. They had the best dollar menu in that variety of food. I'd always get a Jr bacon cheeseburger, Caesar salad, 6 piece nuggets w/honey mustard and my favorite, the chilli chips n cheese. $4 if you drank water. Damn I miss that.

Used to be sooooo much better back then

Wendy’s was the bomb, now it’s the trash. 🗑 the meat was juicy,delicious and burger was made right…now you’re lucky if they pickle on it! They need to go back to the basics Mr.Thomas I know he is spinning in his grave!

It sure not as good as it was 40 years ago. Cheaper food now days.

Worst fast food burger I ever had. Chicken is the star of the show at Wendy’s

Wendy's food was alot better when Dave Thomas was alive.

Dave's original recipe is still better.