RISE - Menu Monitor

Wendy’s introduced the Baconator, with ½-lb. beef patty, hickory-smoked bacon, American cheese, ketchup and mayonnaise.
(Company Release 7/16/07)
Wendy’s International Inc. plans to offer its new breakfast menu in more than 650 stores by the end of August. The company
has been testing the breakfast menu in approximately 160 restaurants in five markets. New breakfast items include a steak
and egg breakfast sandwich, a breakfast burrito with hot sauce, French toast sticks with syrup and the Buttermilk Frescuit
sandwich. Premium coffee will also be added to the menu and will be offered all day. Wendy’s hopes the new menu will help it
to compete with McDonald’s and Burger King’s breakfast sales. (Washington Post Online 6/22/07; NRN Daily NewsFax
6/25/07)
Wendy’s continues to expand its breakfast menu to more restaurants nationwide. The menu features a variety of different
items including Buttermilk Frescata, a biscuit with egg, cheese and choice of breakfast meat (sausage, hickory-smoked bacon
or ham); Steak and Egg Breakfast Sandwich, featuring egg, cheese, slices of seasoned steak and bacon on a warm kaiser
roll; Big Breakfast Sandwich, with egg, cheese, hickory-smoked bacon and seasoned sausage on a warm kaiser roll; Grande
Breakfast Burrito, a warm flour tortilla filled with scrambled eggs, seasoned sausage, roasted breakfast potatoes, Cheddar and
American cheeses served with Wendy’s hot sauce; and crispy French Toast Sticks paired with syrup for dipping. Other items
include value-menu offerings such as Sausage Biscuits, a Sausage and Egg Burrito and Cinnamon Rolls as well as regional
favorites including a Chicken Biscuit and Sausage Gravy and Biscuits. The breakfast items will be available a la carte or in
combo meals. Beverage options will include Folgers Gourmet Selections coffee. (Company Release 6/22/07; Chicago Sun-
Times 6/23/07)
Wendy’s is offering its Twisted Frosty. The item features Wendy’s classic Frosty with M&M or Oreo topping mixed in. Nearly
4,500 of the chain’s locations are now serving the Twisted Frosty. (Company Release 8/15/07)
Wendy’s has pledged to give preferential buying support to pork and chicken suppliers that use humane animal practices. This
includes increasing pork purchases of hogs not raised in restrictive gestation stalls from 10% to 20% by the end of 2008.
Suppliers will be monitored through Wendy’s ongoing animal welfare reviews. (QSRMagazine Online 7/12/07; NRN Daily
NewsFax 7/13/07)
Wendy’s added a new line of Fix ’n Mix Frostys to its menu. The dessert features the classic Wendy’s Frosty with a choice of
M&M, Butterfinger or Oreo pieces as mix-in additions. (Yahoo! Finance 8/15/07)
Franchise Activity |
Wendy’s 15 restaurants in Southeast Wisconsin are being sold by franchisee Bridgeman Foods for $11.3 million to GE Capital
Solutions Franchise Finance. Bridgeman will lease back the properties. (Bizjournals.com 2/23/07)
Wendy’s International closed the chain’s first restaurant in Columbus, OH. The outlet, opened in 1969 by founder Dave
Thomas, offered limited seating and no drive-thru and its business was dependent on state offices that are closed nights and
weekends. In other news, the company plans to open 80–110 company-owned and franchised outlets in 2007, concentrating
its development in North America. This is down from 2006, when it opened 122 stores. (NRN Daily NewsFax 2/26/07;
Tennessean.com 2/26/07; Nation’s Restaurant Online 2/25/07; The Wall Street Journal 3/05/07)
Wendy’s operators James P. May and Michael Quagliano closed their newly reopened unit in Mattoon, IL, last week after
Wendy’s International Inc. claimed it hadn’t authorized the store. The operators of the unit agreed to close the store when the
company sought a temporary restraining order against them. The Mattoon store was the first to reopen of a number of sites,
including units in Champaign, Decatur, East Peoria and Springfield, that the operators had acquired from Wendy’s franchise
Wendy’s America. Wendy’s had not authorized reopening of the store because of deficiencies that would require expensive
remodeling and remediation. (News-gazette.com 6/20/07)
International Activities |
Wendy’s International Inc., paid $800 million to buy back 22.4 million shares of its stock through a “Dutch auction”. The stock
represents approximately 19% of the company’s shares. (The Columbus Dispatch 11/18/06)
Technology |
Wendy’s have installed DVD kiosks the size of vending machines so customers can buy a meal and then pick up a movie for
the night. The kiosks offer 800 movie titles for prices ranging from $10–$20. (Ohio.com 11/1/06)
©Technomic Information Services 2007, CIS profiles may not be copied or distributed in any print or electronic format without a license or written consent.
Technomic believes that its sources of information are reliable, but does not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information
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