The U.S. City With More Wendy's Locations Than Any Other
Whether you're a die-hard fan of square hamburgers or you only know them by the iconic "Where's the Beef" commercial, you can't argue that Wendy's is a solid competitor in the world of fast-food hamburgers. With over 6,500 locations operating in the United States, Wendy's isn't a small-fry by any means, but compared to fast-food juggernaut McDonald's staggering 18,332 locations across the United States (via FinancesOnline), it seems pretty small in comparison. This doesn't mean Wendy's is a bad restaurant, nor does it mean that the chain doesn't have plenty of fans. In fact, there's one place in the United States that can be called the Wendy's capital of the world, given how many Wendy's franchises call it home.
As the old saying goes, everything's bigger in Texas — and that rings true for Wendy's. According to ScrapeHero, Houston, Texas has 48 Wendy's locations, beating out Miami, Florida by just three. Florida does, however, have more Wendy's outlets than Texas, boasting 527 locations over Texas's 438. Although Ohio was the birthplace of Wendy's, and even had the first-ever Wendy's there until 2007 (via Roadside America), why exactly does Houston hold the lion's share of Wendy's locations?
Houston is viewed as America's fast-food capital
It's not just Wendy's that's popular in Houston. Other fast-food businesses have set up a surprising amount of locations in the Texan city. Houston has 129 McDonalds (via ScrapeHero), 81 Burger Kings (via WebScraping), and 64 Popeye's (via RenTech Digital) — and that's only a small handful. According to The Business of Business, Houston is the fast-food capital "in terms of sheer [fast-food] location count," compared to other major cities in the U.S., but doesn't have the most fast-food restaurants per capita. Just what is it about Houston that makes it so attractive to fast-food companies?
There is no definitive reason, but perhaps the reason why franchise owners call Houston home lies within the dining scene of the city itself. Houston is well-known in the culinary world for having a surprisingly diverse variety of restaurants and eateries, ranging from Southern flavors, Cajun, Mexican, and even Vietnamese (via Spoon University). Houston also boasts, according to its tourist page, a wide variety of award-winning restaurants, alongside having a population that is said to dine out multiple times a week (via Houston Public Media). Maybe seeing the popularity of restaurants and hungry diners, fast-food companies such as Wendy's and McDonald's decided to try and cash in on that craze, setting up multiple locations to catch a Houston citizen hungry for some burgers.