Dave Thomas (American businessman)
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| Dave Thomas | |
| Born | July 2, 1932 Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA |
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| Died | January 8, 2002 (aged 69) Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA |
| Occupation | Businessman, philanthropist |
| Website www.wendys.com/dave |
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David "Dave" Thomas (July 2, 1932 – January 8, 2002) was an American restaurateur and philanthropist. Thomas was the founder and chief executive officer of Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers, a fast-food restaurant chain specializing in hamburgers. He is also known for appearing in more than 800 commercial advertisements for the chain from 1989 to 2002–more than any other person in television history.[1]
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[edit] Biography
Dave Thomas was born on July 2, 1932 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He was raised by two adoptive parents, Rex and Auleva Thomas,[citation needed] who were from Lebanon and never knew or met either of his birth parents. He would become a well-known advocate for adoption, founding the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption in 1992. At a young age, he spent much time with his grandmother Minnie Sinclair, whom he credits with teaching him the importance of helping and treating others well and with respect, lessons that helped him in his future business life.[citation needed] Thomas did not graduate from high school until later in his adult life, when he obtained a GED.
[edit] Early restaurant experience
Thomas first became involved in the restaurant industry at the age of 12, when he got a job as a counterman at the Regas Restaurant in Knoxville, TN. He was fired after a misunderstanding with his boss about his vacation and vowed never to lose another job in his life.[citation needed]
According to a 2001 interview, Thomas lived in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He used to love eating at a Kewpee restaurant and said it was one of the reasons he was inspired to go into the business. Kewpee’s sold square hamburgers and thick malt shakes, much like the restaurant that Thomas eventually founded in Columbus, Ohio in 1969.
At the age of 15, Thomas got a job as a busboy at a Hobby House restaurant in Fort Wayne, Indiana. When his family decided to move once again, he refused, dropping out of high school at age 15 to work full time. He moved in with the family that owned the restaurant and focused on ways to promote it. It was at the Hobby House that he met a waitress named Lorraine who would become his wife in 1956.
[edit] U.S. Army
During the Korean War, rather than waiting for the the draft, he volunteered for the U.S. Army to have some choice in assignments. Having experience in overseeing the feeding of others, Thomas chose Cook and Bakers School at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was sent overseas to Germany as a mess sergeant and was responsible for feeding 2000 soldiers daily. He later attributed his success in fast food to this experience in mass feedings. Thomas was honorably discharged in 1953, with the rank of Staff Sergeant.
[edit] Kentucky Fried Chicken
On discharge, Thomas was offered a chance to turn around a failing KFC restaurant. He helped save the restaurant and revolutionize the fast food industry by simplifying the menu. At the time, there were an excessive amount of items (possibly more than one-hundred) on the menu. Thomas changed this by stripping it down to just the basic Fried Chicken and salads. Working with KFC founder Col. Harland Sanders, he quit soon after being hired to pursue further dreams. As a child, Dave had always imagined one day owning a hamburger restaurant. When Thomas was unable to find any good burger establishments in the Columbus area, he started a restaurant of his own.
[edit] Wendy's
Thomas sold his KFC franchises and opened his first Wendy's in Columbus, Ohio, in 1969. (This original restaurant would remain operational until March 2, 2007, when it was closed due to lagging sales.)[2] Thomas named the restaurant after his two-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 himself that people nicknamed his daughter (in his own words) "Wenda. Not Wendy but Wenda. So one day, I looked at her and said...'I'm going to call it Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers'."
In 1982, Thomas resigned from his day-to-day operations at Wendy’s. However, business mistakes would soon bring about problems and hurt sales, causing the company’s new president to urge Thomas back into a more active role with Wendy's. Thomas began to visit franchises and espouse his hardworking, so-called “mop-bucket attitude.” In 1989, he took on a significant role as the TV spokesman in the company's series of highly successful commercials. With his folksy style and his relaxed pitch for his restaurants, Thomas would quickly become 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,[1] it was clear that Thomas played a major role in Wendy’s status as the country's third most popular burger restaurant.
[edit] Honors and memberships
Thomas, realizing that his success as a high school dropout might convince other teenagers to leave school (something he later admitted was a mistake), became a student at Coconut Creek High School. He earned a GED in 1993. He later earned an honorary membership of Duke University's Sigma Phi Epsilon.
Thomas was a Freemason, and a member of the Shriners.
Thomas was an honorary Kentucky colonel, as was former boss Colonel Sanders.[3]
Mr. Thomas was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1999.
[edit] Death
Thomas died on January 8, 2002 at his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after a decade-long battle with liver cancer. He was buried in Union Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio. At the time of his death, there were more than 6,000 Wendy's restaurants operating in North America. His daughter is married to Thomas Coonan.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Dave Thomas Biography (PDF). Wendy's International. Retrieved on 2007-06-27.
- ^ Hundreds bid farewell to 1st Wendy's - Boston.com
- ^ The History Channel - American Eats
[edit] External links
- Wendy's tribute to Dave Thomas
- The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
- Wendys.com
- "Dave Thomas Biography". Retrieved June 1, 2005
- Dave Thomas at findagrave.com
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