Family Fights to Exhume Wendy’s Founder Dave Thomas

With fast food franchise giant Wendy’s up for sale, the Thomas family, including chain namesake Wendy, wants to bring back Dave.

With Wendy’s International up for sale, and the airing of quirky ad campaign they call “utterly ridiculous,” the wife and four daughters of Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas believe their father’s presence is needed more than ever… if even in spirit.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, the family has been openly critical of the Wendy’s current, quirky ad campaign:

Lorraine Thomas, Dave Thomas’ widow, called it “absolutely ridiculous.”

The first of the ads featured hundreds of people kicking trees in the woods, until a red-wigged character makes a break with sameness and decides he doesn’t want a hamburger cooked from frozen beef.

“Why is kicking a tree going to sell a hamburger?” Lorraine Thomas asked.

* * * * *

Pam Farber, another Thomas daughter, said that when people took over the company who didn’t understand the culture and the history, they thought they had to recreate it.

“It just doesn’t resonate with my family,” Farber said.

The five Thomas children operate 32 Wendy’s restaurants employing about 1,000 people. The children and Dave Thomas’ widow also are shareholders, collectively owning “a nice-sized amount” of stock, Wendy Thomas said. At the time of his death in 2002, Dave Thomas owned 2.1 percent of the company’s shares.

The family mourns the death not only of their franchise icon father, but of his business philosophy:   Serve good products, treat people well, and they’ll come back.  They want to see their father’s visionand culture, return before it’s too late.  With the company on the auction block, it’s a critical time:

…the company built by their husband and father faces an uncertain fate.

Selling Wendy’s is one option, and bidders have lined up, including big dealmakers from New York and one local man who owns more than 100 Wendy’s franchises across the country. The sale process is pure business, peppered with billon-dollar figures and legalese.

But for the Thomas family, it’s personal.

The Thomas women have been vocal in their displeasure with the direction of the company. They say the culture of the company has been damaged and Dave Thomas’ simple philosophies set aside. But they’re hopeful that Wendy’s could prosper in the future. The burger chain has faltered in recent years, amid flagging sales.

The women are pulling for J. David Karam, a locally based franchisee who’s bidding for the company along with his partners in the offer, two private-equity firms. Ken Thomas, son of Dave Thomas, declined to be interviewed for this story.

Karam’s father was among the first investors in the Wendy’s restaurant chain and an early franchisee.

“He knows it. He’s lived it. He was raised in it, just like we were,” said daughter Lori Thomas, of Karam.

If Karam leads the company, “It will maybe keep our dad’s spirit alive,” she said.

Got an opinion?  Leave a Comment!

FranBest.com: Check out the best in franchising

TopNewFranchises.Com: America’s Next Top… Franchise

Franchise Marketing: franchise marketing, franchise public relations, franchise sales

Franchise & Marketing Newsletters: Affordable. Stylish. Free.

Custom Franchise Search

__________________________________________

FREE WHITEPAPER:   What’s the best way for companies to respond to online criticism and attacks? A Harvard report with multiple recent case studies compiled and is available for free download.

__________________________________________