Within six weeks of his birth, Dave was put up for adoption. At the age of five, his adoptive mother died. Then his adoptive grandmother took care of him until he was nine. Dave’s adoptive father was having problems with finding work, so he kept moving his family from one place to the other.
This had its toll on the young Dave to whom a stable childhood was like a far-fetched dream. He started working at the tender age of ten, taking odd jobs like working as a paperboy and at the neighbourhood grocery store. Having trouble keeping jobs, he kept moving from one to the other.
However, through all the jobs he took on at such an early age, the one he enjoyed most was at a restaurant. He loved restaurant work and the atmosphere so much that his greatest dream was to own a hamburger restaurant. Yet, this seemed like a far-fetched goal for an orphan with such grim beginnings.
Fortunately, his luck seemed to change when, on one of his father’s continuous moves, he was able to land a job that he liked. In Fort Wayne, Indiana, Dave Thomas worked at the Hobby House restaurant, where he befriended the owner, Phil Clauss, and became his protégé. Dave liked the work so much that he decided not to move anymore with his father and settled there at the age of 15. He had to rent a room at the YMCA and then moved to live with some relatives of the restaurant owner. It was around that time that he took another decision which he regretted for the rest of his life. He had decided to quit high school in order to work full time at the restaurant.
At the age of eighteen, Dave joined the army and was sent to serve in Europe. Upon his return from service, Dave got married and continued to work with Phil Clauss. Soon after, the young man had his second lucky break. In 1959, Clauss and Colonel Sanders, the famous owner of Kentucky Fried Chicken decided to open a franchise in Columbus, Ohio and chose Dave to become the franchise operation adviser.
Through hard work and dedication, Dave proved himself worthy of owning a share of that franchise and started charting his road into big restaurant business. By 1967, Dave became a millionaire at the age of 35 after selling his shares in the restaurants that he successfully operated. Dave became successful, but still short of realizing his childhood dream of owning his own hamburger restaurant. True, he had a stake in the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants in Columbus, but still his real dream was to own a hamburger restaurant.
Finally in 1969, and at the age of 37, Dave’s fantasy became a reality when he opened his own hamburger restaurant. Not sure what to call it, he settled on using the name of one of his daughters: Wendy’s. Later this restaurant became the first of over six thousand restaurants of the Wendy’s restaurant chain, the third largest fast restaurant chain in America.
The success of the chain can be attributed to many of its unique features. However, the founder summed it up to be about focusing on providing value for the customers. As he put it in his own words, “If we take care of our customers every day and exceed their expectations, we’ll earn their loyalty.” A very simple recipe that became the guiding light for his innovative and unique touches that the customers found at Dave’s chain.
While most fast food restaurants then served mass produced hamburgers, he stressed the fact that each hamburger is made to order at Wendy’s. He also took care of the atmosphere at his restaurants. While most fast food restaurants offered utilitarian style seating and tables, his restaurant was distinguished with a warmer atmosphere that used wooden chairs and more of a traditional style. In his strive to be different, he also sold square burgers instead of the regular round ones his competitors sold. He used that for publicity by stressing that “at Wendy’s, we do not cut corners.”
Dave became a very familiar and household name when he started to do Wendy’s commercials himself on TV. His down-to-earth personality and warm smile made him a popular figure in the US. His ad campaign was very successful and he continued doing the ads for over a decade.
Dave never forgot his days as an orphan and decided to give back by helping those he could relate to most; he dedicated much of his time, efforts, and money to help orphans find good foster homes. In 1990, he was selected to head the White House initiative on adoption. A couple of years later, he established the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, to ensure that “every child has a permanent home and a loving family,” according to its website.
Dave never forgot how he regretted dropping out of high school. At the age of 60, he went back to school and got his high school diploma.
Dave Thomas died in 2002 at the age of 69. He was survived by his wife, five children, and sixteen grandchildren. He wrote books on his experience including “Dave’s Way,” “Well Done!” and “Franchising for Dummies.”
Sunday, February 11, 2007