Dave Thomas (American businessman)
Encyclopedia
David "Dave" Thomas was an American fast-food entrepreneur
and philanthropist
. Thomas was the founder and chief executive officer
of Wendy's
, a fast-food restaurant chain specializing in hamburger
s. He is also known for appearing in more than 800 commercial advertisements for the chain from 1989 to 2002, more than any other person in television history.
, New Jersey
to a young unmarried woman he never knew. He was adopted at 6 weeks by Rex and Auleva Thomas, and as an adult would become a well-known advocate for adoption
, founding the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
. After his adoptive mother's death when he was 5, his father moved around the country seeking work. Dave spent time in Michigan with his grandmother, Minnie Sinclair, whom he credited with teaching him the importance of service and treating others well and with respect, lessons that helped him in his future business life. At 12 he got his first job at The Regas, a restaurant in Knoxville, Tennessee
, then lost it in a dispute with his boss. However, there was a large autographed poster-photo of Thomas just inside the entrance of The Regas until the business closed down in 2009. He vowed never to lose another job. Moving with his father, by 15 he was working in Fort Wayne, Indiana
at the Hobby House Restaurant owned by the Clauss family. When his father prepared to move again, Dave decided to stay in Fort Wayne, dropping out of high school to work full time at the restaurant. Thomas, who considered ending his schooling the greatest mistake of his life, did not graduate from high school until 1993 when he obtained a GED.
Dave Thomas became an education advocate and founded the Dave Thomas Education Center in Coconut Creek, Florida
, which offers GED classes to young adults.
in 1950, rather than waiting for the draft
, he volunteered for the U.S. Army
to have some choice in assignments. Having food production and service experience, Thomas requested the Cook's and Baker's School
at Fort Benning, Georgia
. He was sent overseas to Germany
as a mess sergeant and was responsible for the daily meals of 2000 soldiers, rising to the rank of Staff Sergeant. After his discharge in 1953, Thomas returned to Fort Wayne and the Hobby House.
came to Fort Wayne to find restaurateurs with established businesses in order to try to sell KFC franchises to them. At first, Thomas, who was the head cook at the restaurant, and the Clausses declined Sanders' offer, but the Colonel persisted and the Clauss family franchised their restaurant with KFC and later also owned many other KFC franchises in the Midwest
. During this time, Thomas worked with Sanders on many projects to make KFC more profitable and to give it brand recognition. Among other things Thomas suggested to Sanders that were implemented; KFC's signature chicken bucket (to keep the chicken crisp), reduce the number of items on the menu, focus on a signature dish, and introduce the trademark sign featuring a revolving red-striped bucket of chicken. Thomas also suggested Sanders make commercials that he appear in himself. Thomas was sent by the Clauss family in the mid-1960s to help turn around four ailing KFC stores they owned in Columbus, Ohio. By 1968 he had increased sales in the four fried chicken restaurants so much that he sold his share in them back to Sanders for more than $1.5 million.
This experience would prove invaluable to Thomas when he began Wendy's about a year later.
, November 15, 1969. (This original restaurant would remain operational until March 2, 2007, when it was closed due to lagging sales.) Thomas named the restaurant after his eight-year-old daughter Melinda Lou
, whose nickname was "Wenda", stemming from the child's inability to say her own name at a young age. According to Bio TV, Dave claims himself that people nicknamed his daughter "Wenda. Not Wendy, but Wenda. 'I'm going to call it Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers'."
In 1982, Thomas resigned from his day-to-day operations at Wendy’s. However, by 1985, several company business decisions, including an awkward new breakfast menu and loss in brand awareness due to fizzled marketing efforts, caused the company’s new president to urge Thomas back into a more active role with Wendy's. Thomas began to visit franchises and espouse his hardworking, so-called “mop-bucket attitude.” In 1989, he took on a significant role as the TV spokesman in a series of commercials for the brand. Thomas was not a natural actor, and initially, his performances were criticized as stiff and ineffective by advertising critics. By 1990, after efforts by Wendy's agency, Backer Spielvolgel Bates, to get humor into the campaign, a decision was made to portray Thomas in a more self-deprecating and folksy manner, which proved much more popular with test audiences. Consumer brand awareness of Wendy's eventually regained levels it had not achieved since octogenarian Clara Peller
's wildly popular "Where's the beef?
" campaign of 1984. With his natural self-effacing style and his relaxed manner, Thomas quickly became a household name. A company survey during the 1990s, a decade during which Thomas starred in every Wendy’s commercial that aired, found that 90% of Americans knew who Thomas was. After more than 800 commercials, it was clear that Thomas played a major role in Wendy’s status as the country's third most popular burger restaurant.
. He earned a GED in 1993. He later earned an honorary membership of Duke University's
Sigma Phi Epsilon
. Thomas was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1999.
Thomas was a Freemason
, and a member of the Shriners. He was also an honorary Kentucky colonel
, as was former boss Colonel Sanders.
Thomas was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
in 2003.
, Florida
, after a decade-long battle with liver cancer
. He was 69 years old. Thomas was buried in Union Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio. At the time of his death, there were more than 6,000 Wendy's restaurants operating in North America
.
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
. Thomas was the founder and chief executive officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of Wendy's
Wendy's
Wendy's is an international fast food chain restaurant founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The company decided to move its headquarters to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. It has been owned by Triarc since 2008...
, a fast-food restaurant chain specializing in hamburger
Hamburger
A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...
s. He is also known for appearing in more than 800 commercial advertisements for the chain from 1989 to 2002, more than any other person in television history.
Biography
Dave Thomas was born on July 2, 1932 in Atlantic CityAtlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
to a young unmarried woman he never knew. He was adopted at 6 weeks by Rex and Auleva Thomas, and as an adult would become a well-known advocate for adoption
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
, founding the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to finding adoptive homes for children waiting in North America’s foster care system...
. After his adoptive mother's death when he was 5, his father moved around the country seeking work. Dave spent time in Michigan with his grandmother, Minnie Sinclair, whom he credited with teaching him the importance of service and treating others well and with respect, lessons that helped him in his future business life. At 12 he got his first job at The Regas, a restaurant in Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, then lost it in a dispute with his boss. However, there was a large autographed poster-photo of Thomas just inside the entrance of The Regas until the business closed down in 2009. He vowed never to lose another job. Moving with his father, by 15 he was working in Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
at the Hobby House Restaurant owned by the Clauss family. When his father prepared to move again, Dave decided to stay in Fort Wayne, dropping out of high school to work full time at the restaurant. Thomas, who considered ending his schooling the greatest mistake of his life, did not graduate from high school until 1993 when he obtained a GED.
Dave Thomas became an education advocate and founded the Dave Thomas Education Center in Coconut Creek, Florida
Coconut Creek, Florida
Coconut Creek is a city in Broward County, Florida , nestled between Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. It had a population of 52,909 at the 2010 census...
, which offers GED classes to young adults.
U.S. Army
At the outbreak of the Korean WarKorean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
in 1950, rather than waiting for the draft
Conscription in the United States
Conscription in the United States has been employed several times, usually during war but also during the nominal peace of the Cold War...
, he volunteered for the U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
to have some choice in assignments. Having food production and service experience, Thomas requested the Cook's and Baker's School
Quartermaster Center and School
The Quartermaster Center and School is a subordinate command of the United States Army's Combined Arms Support Command and is located at Fort Lee, Virginia.-Description:...
at Fort Benning, Georgia
Fort Benning
Fort Benning is a United States Army post located southeast of the city of Columbus in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell County, Alabama...
. He was sent overseas to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
as a mess sergeant and was responsible for the daily meals of 2000 soldiers, rising to the rank of Staff Sergeant. After his discharge in 1953, Thomas returned to Fort Wayne and the Hobby House.
Kentucky Fried Chicken
In the mid-1950s, Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Col. Harland SandersColonel Sanders
Harland David "Colonel" Sanders was an American fast food businessman who founded the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant chain, now re-branded as KFC...
came to Fort Wayne to find restaurateurs with established businesses in order to try to sell KFC franchises to them. At first, Thomas, who was the head cook at the restaurant, and the Clausses declined Sanders' offer, but the Colonel persisted and the Clauss family franchised their restaurant with KFC and later also owned many other KFC franchises in the Midwest
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
. During this time, Thomas worked with Sanders on many projects to make KFC more profitable and to give it brand recognition. Among other things Thomas suggested to Sanders that were implemented; KFC's signature chicken bucket (to keep the chicken crisp), reduce the number of items on the menu, focus on a signature dish, and introduce the trademark sign featuring a revolving red-striped bucket of chicken. Thomas also suggested Sanders make commercials that he appear in himself. Thomas was sent by the Clauss family in the mid-1960s to help turn around four ailing KFC stores they owned in Columbus, Ohio. By 1968 he had increased sales in the four fried chicken restaurants so much that he sold his share in them back to Sanders for more than $1.5 million.
This experience would prove invaluable to Thomas when he began Wendy's about a year later.
Wendy's
Thomas opened his first Wendy's in Columbus, OhioColumbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, November 15, 1969. (This original restaurant would remain operational until March 2, 2007, when it was closed due to lagging sales.) Thomas named the restaurant after his eight-year-old daughter Melinda Lou
Wendy Thomas
Melinda Lou "Wendy" Morse is the daughter and fourth child of American businessman Dave Thomas, the founder of the restaurant Wendy's...
, whose nickname was "Wenda", stemming from the child's inability to say her own name at a young age. According to Bio TV, Dave claims himself that people nicknamed his daughter "Wenda. Not Wendy, but Wenda. 'I'm going to call it Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers'."
In 1982, Thomas resigned from his day-to-day operations at Wendy’s. However, by 1985, several company business decisions, including an awkward new breakfast menu and loss in brand awareness due to fizzled marketing efforts, caused the company’s new president to urge Thomas back into a more active role with Wendy's. Thomas began to visit franchises and espouse his hardworking, so-called “mop-bucket attitude.” In 1989, he took on a significant role as the TV spokesman in a series of commercials for the brand. Thomas was not a natural actor, and initially, his performances were criticized as stiff and ineffective by advertising critics. By 1990, after efforts by Wendy's agency, Backer Spielvolgel Bates, to get humor into the campaign, a decision was made to portray Thomas in a more self-deprecating and folksy manner, which proved much more popular with test audiences. Consumer brand awareness of Wendy's eventually regained levels it had not achieved since octogenarian Clara Peller
Clara Peller
Clara Peller , was a retired manicurist and American character actress who, at the age of 81, starred in the 1984 "Where's the beef?" advertising campaign for the Wendy's fast food restaurant chain, created by the Dancer Fitzgerald Sample ad agency.-Early life:Born in Illinois, Clara Peller lived...
's wildly popular "Where's the beef?
Where's the beef?
"Where's the beef?" is a catchphrase in the United States and Canada. Since it was first used as an advertising slogan, it has become an all-purpose phrase questioning the substance of an idea, event, or product.-History:...
" campaign of 1984. With his natural self-effacing style and his relaxed manner, Thomas quickly became a household name. A company survey during the 1990s, a decade during which Thomas starred in every Wendy’s commercial that aired, found that 90% of Americans knew who Thomas was. After more than 800 commercials, it was clear that Thomas played a major role in Wendy’s status as the country's third most popular burger restaurant.
Honors and memberships
Thomas, realizing that his success as a high school dropout might convince other teenagers to quit school (something he later claimed was a mistake), became a student at Coconut Creek High SchoolCoconut Creek High School
Coconut Creek High School is a public high school located in Coconut Creek, Florida located in Broward County, Florida. It is part of the Broward School District.Creek has an FCAT school grade of "D" for the 2010-2011 academic year.- History :...
. He earned a GED in 1993. He later earned an honorary membership of Duke University's
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
Sigma Phi Epsilon
Sigma Phi Epsilon
Sigma Phi Epsilon , commonly nicknamed SigEp or SPE, is a social college fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College , and its national headquarters remains in Richmond, Virginia. It was founded on three principles: Virtue,...
. Thomas was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1999.
Thomas was a Freemason
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
, and a member of the Shriners. He was also an honorary Kentucky colonel
Kentucky colonel
Kentucky colonel is the highest title of honor bestowed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Commissions for Kentucky colonels are given by the Governor and the Secretary of State to individuals in recognition of noteworthy accomplishments and outstanding service to a community, state or the nation...
, as was former boss Colonel Sanders.
Thomas was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
in 2003.
Death
On January 8, 2002, Thomas died at his home in Fort LauderdaleFort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, after a decade-long battle with liver cancer
Hepatocellular carcinoma
Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common type of liver cancer. Most cases of HCC are secondary to either a viral hepatitide infection or cirrhosis .Compared to other cancers, HCC is quite a rare tumor in the United States...
. He was 69 years old. Thomas was buried in Union Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio. At the time of his death, there were more than 6,000 Wendy's restaurants operating in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
External links
- Wendy's tribute to Dave Thomas
- The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
- Wendys.com
- "Dave Thomas Biography". Retrieved June 1, 2005
- Dave Thomas at Find A GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...