Wendy's Is Finally Making Its Way To This Country
Back in 1969, Dave Thomas decided to open a burger joint and name it after his daughter, Wendy. Today, the chain's familiar logo featuring a red-headed girl in braids is seen and recognized across the globe, thanks to the nearly 7,000 Wendy's locations worldwide and the chain's reputation for producing snarky social media content.
Wendy's is known for serving up square hamburger patties and the creamy, shake-like Frosty. According to Statista, the restaurant currently makes approximately $1.9 billion in revenue worldwide. Some countries the fast food chain has set up shop in include Kazakhstan, Jamaica, and Guatemala. However, some countries didn't quite respond positively to the chain. According to RD, Wendy's had locations in Russia, Ireland, Greece, and Italy, all of which are now closed.
The fast food chain also once had stores in Australia and New Zealand. The New Zealand stores are still going strong, but all Australian Wendy's closed their doors back in 1986. Most of its restaurants were sold to Hungry Jack's — which is what Burger King is known as down under. Now, after a 36-year absence, Wendy's has decided to make another go of its Australian journey.
This is not the first time Wendy's has been in Oz
In May 2021, Wendy's set up a pop-up shop in an iconic area of Sydney, Australia known as the Rocks, enticing visitors with free cheeseburgers and its iconic Frosty. According to Concrete Playground, the pop-up was there to determine if there was enough interest to bring the chain to Australian shores once again. A year later, DC Strategy, an Australian franchise consulting firm, announced its partnership with the fast-food restaurant. "The Wendy's Company is looking for world-class, experienced franchise partners with strong operations experience and a proven track record for growing brands in Australia," the company wrote in a blog post. While there are no determined locations at this time, it certainly looks like Wendy's will be a fixture in the Australian market shortly — The Canberra Times reported in September 2022 that "more than 10 opportunities are being advertised" to franchise in the country.
Interestingly, many Australians are already familiar with the name "Wendy's" because of an ice cream chain in Australia called Wendy's Milk Bar, which has existed since 1979 and has over 120 stores in Australia and New Zealand. In 2021, Newsweek reported that the American fast food giant was having difficulty expanding into Europe because a Netherlands take-away outlet — Wendy's Fish and Chips — was unwilling to give up its name. It's possible that similar issues may arise in Australia.