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Where "Where's the beef?" started. Closed in March 2007.
Roadsideamerica.com Report...
- Directions:
- Was downtown at the corner of 5th and Broad.
- Hours:
- Closed in March 2007.
- Status:
- Gone
You already know The First Wendy's was closed for good on March 2. No time was wasted in removing the signage and boarding up the place.
[Rebecca Kerewsky, 03/16/2007]Where's the Beef? Not in Columbus
After years of losing money feeding a shrinking throng in Columbus Ohio's faded downtown, the World's First Wendy's will close on March 2, 2007. The hybrid fast food restaurant/free museum had been operating at a loss, and was too costly to renovate, according to the Wendy's corporation.
Wendy's began its fast food franchise journey in 1969, when 35 year old Dave Thomas opened Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers restaurant on East Broad Street. The location became the pilgrimage destination for a nation of Wendy's fans (here's our story from a 2004 visit). Apparently, diehards like us were too few in number, and perhaps didn't buy enough food.
Other fast food franchises let their birthplaces succumb to the bulldozer, but Wendy's had always been an important exception.
Dave Thomas has been buried since 2002, and the original restaurant has been deemed less important than, say, the birthplace of John Wayne, the spawning ground of Hewlett-Packard (a garage), or even the birthplace of McD's (well, franchise Store #1 anyway). There's no plan to move the Wendy's building (as was accomplished with the World's First Pizza Hut -- albeit a smaller building -- in Wichita, Kansas).
The Wendy's artifacts and displays will be shipped to and housed in the company's headquarters in Dublin, Ohio. We're hoping for a free public museum there -- where future generations can appreciate the Danny Thomas Frosty Cup and Spoon exhibit.
[Thanks for tips from Nathan L. Forrider and R. Pelfrey]
[02/24/2007]Dave opened this store in 1969 after originally being sent to Columbus to work for his mentor, the Colonel.
[A.J. Kirkpatrick, 06/16/2002]- Columbus, Ohio - 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant
I drove by the 94th Aerosquadron Restaurant today and there is nothing left. The parking lot has been torn out and is now dirt, and there is nothing left of the building. It has been demolished, and the plane and jeep are no longer on the grounds. Everything has been obliterated.
[signmanjoe, 02/07/2024]94th Aero Squadron Restaurant:- Directions:
- I-270 exit 37. Drive south a half-mile on Hwy 317/Hamilton Rd, then turn right onto Sawyer Rd. The restaurant is on the left.
- Status:
- Closed
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This first store, opened in November 1969 and named after Dave's daughter, spawned the franchise. We visited about ten years ago, when all it displayed to note the event was a plaque (1976) in the foyer and a "Where's the Beef?" poster. As a working reataurant, it was mostly crowded with hungry office workers. By 1996, the first Wendy's was more appreciative of its heritage, featuring interactive kiosks showing old Wendy's commercials, the skillet used to fry the first square burger, the Wendy's Christmas car; and the dress made for founder Dave Thomas' daughter Wendy when she posed for the logo.