{"id":1162,"date":"2025-12-07T15:26:27","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T15:26:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/?p=1162"},"modified":"2025-12-07T15:26:27","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T15:26:27","slug":"why-dave-thomas-regretted-naming-wendys-after-daughter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/?p=1162","title":{"rendered":"Why Dave Thomas Regretted Naming Wendy\u2019s After Daughter"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-journey-body=\"standard-article\">\n<ul data-node-id=\"0\" class=\"css-kw9lqy emevuu60\">\n<li data-node-id=\"0.0\">Dave Thomas named Wendy\u2019s after his eight-year-old daughter.<\/li>\n<li data-node-id=\"0.1\">Wendy later said the attention felt \u201cawkward,\u201d and Dave apologized.<\/li>\n<li data-node-id=\"0.2\">She now views the logo as a tribute to her dad\u2019s values and vision.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr data-node-id=\"1\" class=\"css-18pb4rg emevuu60\"\/>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"2\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">If you grew up thinking Wendy&#8217;s was just square burgers with a red pigtailed girl logo, there\u2019s an actual person behind that sign: Wendy Thomas Morse. She was eight when her dad\u2014yes, that Dave Thomas\u2014decided his new burger spot needed a friendly face. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"3\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">&#8220;He just always had a dream, since he was a kid, of opening a hamburger restaurant and there were five kids,&#8221; she <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/wendy-thomas-talks-favorite-wendys-orders-exclusive-11845961\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/people.com\/wendy-thomas-talks-favorite-wendys-orders-exclusive-11845961\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"told People\" data-node-id=\"3.1\" class=\"body-link css-1i7jlb0 emevuu60\">told <em data-node-id=\"3.1.1\">People<\/em><\/a>. &#8220;And he just was like, &#8216;Okay, Wendy&#8217;s an easy name to remember and that&#8217;s what it&#8217;s going to be.'&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"4\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">The first Wendy&#8217;s opened in 1969 in Columbus, Ohio. The chain blew up fast, and by the late &#8217;70s, her smiling face and those very on-brand freckles were everywhere. For Wendy, it wasn\u2019t always a charmed, Frosty-filled life. <\/p>\n<section data-embed=\"watch-next\" data-lazy-id=\"P0-15\" data-node-id=\"5\" class=\"embed\"\/>\n<section data-embed=\"body-image\" data-lazy-id=\"P0-16\" data-node-id=\"6\" class=\"embed\">\n<div size=\"medium\" data-embed=\"body-image\" class=\"align-center size-medium embed css-y6m8k e1fodxfw4\">\n<div class=\"css-uwraif e1fodxfw3\">\n<div class=\"css-p7qblm e1mlxuuw0\"><img draggable=\"true\" alt=\"wendy and dave thomas wendy's\" title=\"wendy and dave thomas wendy's\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2152\" height=\"1422\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\" sizes=\"auto, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/hmg-prod\/images\/screenshot-2025-12-06-at-10-19-35-am-693449cf5d304.png?resize=640:* 640w, https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/hmg-prod\/images\/screenshot-2025-12-06-at-10-19-35-am-693449cf5d304.png?resize=768:* 980w, https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/hmg-prod\/images\/screenshot-2025-12-06-at-10-19-35-am-693449cf5d304.png?resize=980:* 1120w, https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/hmg-prod\/images\/screenshot-2025-12-06-at-10-19-35-am-693449cf5d304.png?resize=980:* 1400w, https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/hmg-prod\/images\/screenshot-2025-12-06-at-10-19-35-am-693449cf5d304.png?resize=980:* 1800w, https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/hmg-prod\/images\/screenshot-2025-12-06-at-10-19-35-am-693449cf5d304.png?resize=980:* 2000w\" src=\"https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/hmg-prod\/images\/screenshot-2025-12-06-at-10-19-35-am-693449cf5d304.png?resize=980:*\" class=\"css-0 e1g79fud0\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" data-dynamic-svg=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/www.delish.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/fre\/static\/icons\/social\/pinterest.e8cf655.svg?primary=%2523ffffff\" loading=\"lazy\" data-testid=\"dynamic-svg-base\" height=\"auto\" width=\"auto\" alt=\"pinterest\" class=\"css-4lml0h e1mlxuuw1\"\/><\/div>\n<p><figcaption data-theme-key=\"photo-credit-figcaption\" class=\"css-1am3yn9 e1g9hcy40\"><span data-theme-key=\"photo-credit-creditor\" class=\"css-10bgxwr e1geg53v2\">Wendy\u2019s \/ \u00a9 Quality Is Our Recipe LLC<\/span><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"7\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">&#8220;I mean, there were times I didn\u2019t want people to know because I didn\u2019t want them to have assumptions,&#8221; Morse said. &#8220;I guess my assumption was that they wouldn\u2019t think I was cool or hip or whatever at the time.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"8\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">She\u2019s also previously said she rarely led with the fact that she was &#8220;the&#8221; Wendy. &#8220;I would never, if I met a lot of new people, I would never tell them who I was,&#8221; she noted. &#8220;It\u2019s usually someone else who says it. And then it gets awkward, and then it gets all better.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"9\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">Even Dave eventually realized the weight that came with putting your kid on every menu board. &#8220;Probably 10 years before my dad passed, we talked about my name and namesake, and he just goes, &#8216;I&#8217;m really sorry I did that to you,'&#8221; she recalled in 2019. Hearing him say he &#8220;probably should&#8217;ve just named it Dave&#8217;s&#8221; validated how much pressure came with being the brand\u2019s namesake.<\/p>\n<section data-embed=\"instagram\" data-lazy-id=\"P0-17\" data-node-id=\"10\" class=\"embed\"\/>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"11\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">These days, Wendy seems to see that logo less as a spotlight and more as a tribute. As she <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/wendy-thomas-father-apologized-naming-restaurants-exclusive-11843034\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/people.com\/wendy-thomas-father-apologized-naming-restaurants-exclusive-11843034\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"put it\" data-node-id=\"11.1\" class=\"body-link css-1i7jlb0 emevuu60\">put it<\/a>, her dad &#8220;always just wanted to serve quality hamburgers\u2014fresh, never frozen beef\u2014and just really good products and have customer service be friendly and have a clean restaurant.&#8221; Now, when she sees the sign, she thinks of her dad &#8220;because he\u2019s there in spirit.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"12\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">So the next time you pass the redhead with the blue bow, know it\u2019s a family story that started with a kid in pigtails, a dad with a dream, and a decision that led to thousands of restaurants across the country.<\/p>\n<section data-embed=\"editorial-link\" data-lazy-id=\"P0-18\" data-node-id=\"13\" class=\"embed\">\n<aside class=\"css-fcvumo e94w1mj1\">\n<div data-theme-key=\"carousel-container\" aria-roledescription=\"carousel\" role=\"region\" aria-live=\"off\" aria-labelledby=\"PP0-18-0\" class=\"css-vzlvvm e1kgjrvy4\">\n<p><h2 id=\"PP0-18-0\" data-theme-key=\"carousel-hed\" class=\"css-4i2xvz e1kgjrvy5\"><span aria-hidden=\"true\" data-theme-key=\"title-design-element-before\" class=\"css-0 eagam8p0\"\/>More Fast-Food Chain News<span aria-hidden=\"true\" data-theme-key=\"title-design-element-after\" class=\"css-0 eagam8p1\"\/><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dave Thomas named Wendy\u2019s after his eight-year-old daughter. Wendy later said the attention felt \u201cawkward,\u201d and Dave apologized. She now views the logo as a tribute to her dad\u2019s values and vision. If you grew up thinking Wendy&#8217;s was just square burgers with a red pigtailed girl logo, there\u2019s an [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1162"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1162\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}