9 facts about Wendy's that might surprise you

Wendy's, the second-largest fast-food burger chain in the US, opened its doors in 1969. dcwcreations/Shutterstock Wendy's could be undergoing major changes.When Wendy's opened in 1969, its menu had just five items: burgers, Frosties, fries, chili, and soft drinks.More than five decades later, the chain has grown into the nation’s second-largest fast-food burger brand based on sales, according to QSR Magazine.Now, Wendy’s could be headed for another major change: a potential acquisition.On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trian Fund Management, which is owned by billionaire investor Nelson Peltz, and its partners offered $1.4 billion, or $7.35 per share, to buy Wendy’s and take the company private.The proposal is still under review by a special committee, so no acquisition has been finalized, but it would mean a major shake-up for the burger chain.Here are 9 things you probably never knew about Wendy's. Wendy's founder, Dave Thomas, worked for KFC and the real Colonel Sanders before opening his own fast-food chain. Wendy's founder, Dave Thomas, in 1989, and the founder of restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken, Colonel Harland David Sanders, in 1969. Getty Images; Bob Grannis/Getty Images Before opening his own franchise, Dave Thomas worked as a head cook at a Hobby House restaurant, a chain that would eventually become Kentucky Fried Chicken.During his time working for the company, Thomas helped improve brand recognition and encouraged Colonel Harland David Sanders to appear in more commercials.This strategy, along with the design of the iconic red-and-white-striped fried chicken bucket, helped grow KFC's popularity.Thomas was sent to Columbus, Ohio, to revitalize a few failing KFC franchises, turn them around, and sell them back to Sanders for a big profit, the Greensboro News & Record reported. He used this newfound cash to start his own franchise: a hamburger chain named Wendy's, inspired by his inability to find a good burger during his years in Columbus. You might already know that Wendy's is named after Dave Thomas' daughter, but her given name is actually Melinda. A framed photograph of the original Wendy. Kiichiro Sato/AP Melinda "Wendy" Thomas was just 8 years old when her father founded Wendy's, and he already had a vision for how she would become the brand's mascot.Inspired by Sanders' success as the face of KFC, Thomas decided to create a similar image for his brand. "He wanted a character, because he worked for the Colonel at Kentucky Fried Chicken and knew how much that persona mattered," Wendy Thomas wrote in a blog post for the company in 2019. "He said, 'Wendy, pull your hair up in pigtails.' So, I did. He got his camera and took pictures of me and my sister and said, 'Yep, it's going to be Wendy's Old-Fashioned Hamburgers.'""That was it," Thomas continued. "There was no marketing research, no nothing. Just boom. That's it."One photo of Thomas wearing a blue-and-white-striped dress with her red hair in pigtails became the ultimate inspiration for the chain's logo. While the logo has been altered slightly over the years, the overall idea has remained the same. Wendy's restaurants used to have their own salad bars where you could completely customize your salad. Wendy's salads. Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Wendy's Salad bars were added to restaurants in November 1979, and they were popular among customers throughout the 1980s.However, as more diners opted for drive-thru and carry-out service, salad bars were phased out in favor of more portable salad options. Wendy's serves about 300 million Frostys every year. Wendy's chocolate Frostys. John Shearer/Getty Images Wendy's chocolate Frosty is arguably one of the chain's most famous and popular menu items. Introduced as one of five menu items when the chain first opened in 1969, Frostys were only available in chocolate until 2006.That all changed when the chain launched its vanilla Frosty.According to a Wendy's press release from 2006, the chain serves about 300 million Frostys every year. Wendy's changed the fast-food industry with the introduction of its pick-up window. Wendy's introduced its first drive-thru in November 1970. Joe Raedle/Getty Images While other chains have claimed to have invented the drive-thru, Wendy's says it changed the fast-food industry when it introduced its own pick-up window in November 1970.The window was originally referred to as a "drive-in window" but was renamed "Pick-Up Window" to better reflect the chain's quick-service model. According to Wendy's, "This innovation was so revolutionary that customers needed instructions on how to talk through the speaker to place an order." Wendy's was the first fast-food chain with fewer than 1,000 restaurants to have its own national TV commercial. Customers inside a Wendy's restaurant. Spencer Platt/Getty Images According to the company's website, in 1977, Wendy's became the first fast-food chain with fewer than 1,000 restaurants to air a national commercial.Wendy's now has around 6,000 restaurants nationwide.One Wendy's advertisement from September 1976, presumably a local commercial, featured an animated Wendy and dancing hamburgers. In the commercial, the cartoon characters described how Wendy's "old-fashioned" hamburgers were cooked to order: "Your choice down at Wendy's, where quality is our recipe!" Some people believe there's a secret message hidden in the Wendy's logo. Wendy's sign. Dan Tian/Getty Images After Wendy's introduced its newly designed logo in 2013, a website author claimed to have found a secret message hidden inside Wendy's iconic blue-and-white dress.ABC News reported that a posting on the website StockLogos.com pointed out that the word "mom" appeared to be hidden on Wendy's collar. Another website agreed, perhaps prompting the chain to issue a statement clarifying whether the hidden message was purely a coincidence or a ploy to get customers to associate Wendy's food with "Mom's cooking.""We are aware of this and find it interesting that it appears our Wendy cameo has 'mom' on her ruffled collar. We can assure you it was unintentional," Denny Lynch, Wendy's former senior vice president of communications, said at the time. Read next Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Erin McDowell is a senior reporter on Business Insider's editorial partnerships team. She covers food, lifestyle, and entertainment for Business Insider and its partner sites, including MSN, Apple News, and Yahoo.She graduated from Elon University in January 2019, where she studied strategic communications and digital art. She has written for V Magazine, Milk.XYZ, OUT.com, Brides Magazine, and more. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. Fast Food