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256 pages. Illustrations. Signed with sentiment (Best Wishes) on fep. The thoroughly engaging story of the man who built a spectacular $3 billion business from scratch using old-fashioned American values. One of the shrewdest marketers around, Dave Thomas took a childhood dream and turned it into a financial empire, and here he shares his experience and know-how in plain, commonsense language. Rex David Thomas (July 2, 1932 January 8, 2002) was an American businessman, philanthropist, and fast-food tycoon who was the founder and chief executive officer of Wendy's, a fast-food restaurant chain specializing in hamburgers. In this role, Thomas appeared in more than 800 commercial advertisements for the chain from 1989 to 2002, more than any other company founder in television history. Thomas opened his first Wendy's in Columbus, Ohio, November 15, 1969. This original restaurant remained 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 "Wendy", stemming from the child's inability to say her own name at a young age. According to Bio TV, Dave claims that people nicknamed his daughter "Wenda. Not Wendy, but Wenda. 'I'm going to call it Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers'." Before his death in 2002, Thomas admitted regret for naming the franchise after his daughter, saying "I should've just named it after myself, because it put a lot of pressure on [her]." Arguably one of the greatest restaurateurs who ever lived, the book is full of advice on how to run a successful business, operate a customer-focused restaurant and market your company with honesty. 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,[4] it was clear that Thomas played a major role in Wendy's' status as the third most popular burger restaurant in the U.S. Derived from a Kirkus review: Dave, of course, is the founder of Wendy's International and is familiar to millions of TV viewers as the hamburger vendor's plain-spoken pitchman. In this book, his way is to combine a modicum of aw-shucks autobiography with a full measure of by-the- numbers advisories on how to succeed in business. An adopted child who had a knockabout boyhood in the Midwest and Southeast during WW II, Thomas knew early on that he wanted to make a career of the restaurant industry. The author enlisted in the Army shortly after the start of the Korean War. Posted to West Germany, he had a chance to work at his trade as assistant manager of an enlisted men's club near Frankfurt. Given an opportunity to turn around four failing Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets in Columbus, Ohio, during the early 1960's, he never looked back. A millionaire at 37, the author went into business for himself. The chain has prospered, by Thomas's account, as a quick-service rather than a fast-food enterprise. He has much to say on quality, consistency, limited menus, personnel relations, philanthropy, perseverance, marketing, and allied subjects. He also settles some old beefs with, among others, McDonald's, Madison Avenue, and critics of red meat.
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