Wendy’s operator Michael Kourie invited me to his Tustin fast-food restaurant the other week — a few days after the nation’s No. 3 burger chain was acquired by Arby’s.
In reporting the mega-fast-food merger, I told the Wall Street Journal that I had not eaten at an Arby’s or Wendy’s in years. “Frankly, it’s because both don’t appeal to me,” I wrote.
Those words apparently stung Kourie, who runs five Wendy’s in Orange County and seven in the Inland Empire. Kourie, 56, wanted to show me what I, and likely others, have forgotten about Wendy’s — founded in Columbus, Ohio by burger icon Dave Thomas in 1969.
“We at Wendy’s pride ourselves on the quality and variety of 
our menu. I would like to show you what Wendy’s is all about,” the savvy operator wrote me in an email.
How could I refuse? So, I took a fun tour of his kitchen. He pointed out Wendy’s fresh (not frozen) made-to-order burgers, boneless chicken and freshly made premium salads.
(Note: I was only allowed to take this photo, right, of square burgers on the grill. Cast your vote, on the best fresh burger at the end of this post.)
After our long chat, I learned a lot about Wendy’s. I even came away with a few product scoops. And yes, I ate some food.
Here are the highlights from our conversation:
How did you hook up with Wendy’s?
Kourie, born in Columbus, Ohio, wanted to be a dentist, but never applied to dental school because his undergraduate grades weren’t good enough. In the 1970s, his sister had worked at one of the first Ohio-based Wendy’s. She was impressed by its potential, and told her brother to go work for Dave Thomas. He did. Kourie and an uncle began managing restaurants in Florida and Las Vegas. He eventually went solo, landing in Southern California in the 1980s. His company, Consolidated Restaurants in Irvine, operates 12 Wendy’s.
Wendy’s has struggled for a few years, prompting the Arby’s deal. What happened?
“We’ve been in a state of flux since Dave (Thomas) passed away (in 2002),” Kourie said. “We’ve lost our edge.”
Wendy’s, he went on to say, used to be the innovator in the industry, having first conceived concepts such as the 99-cent value menu, premium salads and boneless breast of chicken sandwiches. “Our competitors used to copy us,” Kourie said.
Now, the tables have turned. This year, Wendy’s came out with the Chicken Go Wrap, an obvious “copy” of McDonald’s Snack Wrap, Kourie admitted.
Still, copying that item, has improved foot-traffic at his stores, where sales have been “slightly soft” due to the economy, he said.
What are your sales?
He declined to divulge. However, he said his best performing stores are in Orange County. Overall, the average per unit sales at all his restaurants hover above Wendy’s national average, he said. (Wendy’s per unit average in 2007 was $1.3 million, according to Chicago foodservice & market research firm Technomic.)
Will the Arby’s deal help or hurt Wendy’s?
“With this takeover by Arby’s, there’s a ton of unknowns. However, we (franchisees) are optimistic,” said Kourie. (After this interview, Wendy’s new CEO said job cuts loom.)
What’s Wendy’s doing lately to improve sales?
Since, Wendy’s shed its interests in Tim Horton’s and Baja Fresh, Kourie said the chain has worked to improve its marketing campaigns and food innovations. (Baja Fresh, by the way, is now owned by Anaheim investor David Kim.)
The new advertising campaign now focuses on food “as the hero,” said Kourie, who was not a big fan of the goofy, red wig campaign. (Think, bulky men in red-braided Wendy wigs.)
As for products, lots going on here. In the works are a new breakfast program, straw-worthy Frosty Shakes and the addition of “warm” — instead of cold — sliced chicken on top of salads.
The shakes will launch later this month and will come in the following flavors: chocolate fudge, strawberry and vanilla bean. Some O.C. stores, including Kourie’s Tustin unit on Red Hill Avenue, are selling the shakes now.
The warm sliced chicken, and other salad “enhancements” might come in the summer, a Wendy’s spokesman told me.
Breakfast is still in a test phase. Why haven’t you tried it in your stores?
“I would prefer someone else be the guinea pig,” said Kourie. He predicts his stores will sell breakfast within a year to 18 months when Wendy’s settles on a permanent list of morning grub.
Final thoughts: Before I left, I grabbed a few items to take back to the office. (I paid for them, myself, in case you are wondering.) I gobbled down a grilled Chicken Go Wrap in my car and I took a few bites of a burger.
Both, made me think: I better go to Wendy’s more often. Thanks, Mike for rejuvenating my interest in Wendy’s.
Fresh, not frozen poll. Besides Wendy’s, three other Southern California fast-food chains use fresh meat on their burgers: Lake Forest-based Del Taco, Irvine-based In-N-Out Burger and Santa Monica-based Fatburger.
Tell us:
Mike Kourie’s O.C. Wendy’s locations: 24761 Alicia Pkwy in Laguna Hills, 14386 Culver Drive in Irvine (Heritage Plaza); 13922 Redhill Ave. in Tustin; 1237 N. Tustin Ave. in Orange; 468 E.17th St. in Costa Mesa. For a slideshow of Kourie’s Wendy’s, and a look at some new products click here.
If we are going to care about having character in a fast food chain Wendys definitely has it, but I personally never eat there. I prefer Carls or McDonalds.
As a student in the late 1970’s I worked at one of the first Wendy’s restaurants in Western Michigan. I can tell you they never really had an edge to loose. They continue lack the passion and commitment for both the quality of their food and the service that has made the other national chains successful. I will agree that things have gone down hill since Dave Thomas passed, but they were already on a downward trend. In the beginning, the square burger was enough of a novelty to get some attention, but it wasent enough to sustain them very long.
Make the patties thicker and you will move Wendy’s 2 notches up toward In n out status
I eat at Wendy’s about two or three times a year and have generally liked what I got. One of their chicken sandwiches is especially good.
So fresh (never frozen), juicy burgers with soft buns and a choice of a fresh salad or baked potato has never appealed to you? I guess the name of your blog is Fast Food Maven, but come on.
i’m a fan of wendy’s- the one on brookhurst in FV/HB is great!
i’ve been going to the breakfasts about once a week on the weekends. the biscuits and gravy are great (for fast food chain) and the browns are always cooked correctly. my bf and i are a big fan of the jr bacon cheese burgers and their fries are always good–especially dipped in a frostee.
i prefer wendy’s to most other fast food places. maybe my luck has always been good..or maybe they are more consistent then they are given credit for.
my only complaint is the size of the 99cent items. I was a HUGE fan of the biggee 99cent menu. that would be good to bring back now. the big sizes
I love Wendy’s.
I used to not eat there very often, but then I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease (can never eat wheat in anything). Wendy’s has several options and every time I’ve ever visited they’ve been willing to make stuff for me that was good for me to eat.
Their customer service rocks, as do their bun-less hamburgers, their chili, their salads, and their baked potatoes. Mandarin oranges as a side dish is cool, too.
And the Frosties!
I went to Wendy’s a few years ago trying to get a big loaded baked potato but either the people at the window couldn’t understand the order or the menu doesn’t allow it. All I could get from him were 2 baked potatoes, each with 2 ingredients, rather than one with 3 or 4 toppings. Plus, the potato size is measly - why couldn’t it be a meal-sized potato with the option to add any number of toppings?
I like Wendy’s. I like their menu selection and, in general, their food is decently tasty. However, how can one compete against In-N-Out? Whatever In-N-Out is doing, it’s working! Their burgers ROCK!
Fast food burgers suck including In N Out (those burgers are like over salted cookies). The best burgers in Orange County are at Jerry’s Dogs in Santa Ana. Or get the ground sirloin at Pacific Ranch in Orange and grill your own. Once you’ve made your own ground sirloin burger you will never go back to the tasteless, overcooked fare that passes for a hamburger at most fast food joints. And considering most fast food places do not require employees using hand wraps when handling food (nice lobbying McDonalds), do you realy want to trust someone making minimum wage to wash their hands?
the wendy’s that are near my home in Whittier are horrible! Their employee’s can’t speak or understand english, they always mess up your orders, and the past three time’s I have gone there, there was black hair in my french fries and baked potato. Ew!!!
This is pretty funny that I ran into this article. I had lunch at a Wendy’s today. It’s been a long time. I love the salads!
Once I left I remembered why I don’t eat fast food often.
My total was $8.16, I gave the chashier $20.16, the cashier gave me $4.00 in change. When I tried to explain to her the change was incorrect she didn’t speak one word of English, waved her hand at me like I was bothering her and closed the glass. At the next window, I received my bottle of water, and again told the lady I wasn’t given the correct change, she asked for my receipt…I didn’t have one I told her, so she asked how much I had given her, I told her $20.16 and handed her back the $4.00, she gave me $17.00 change back. And then had to go IN the resturant to get my salad they forgot to give me.
And then go back for the dressing they forgot to give me.
I love the chicken sandwich at Wendy’s, but don’t eat there as often anymore. They stopped allowing cheese as a baked potato topping, so my kids never want to go there now. We used to eat there 3 + times per month, but I don’t think I’ve been at all in 2008, just because I know my kids will want a baked potato and not be able to get one the way they like it.
I’d eat there more often if there were one more convenient to my house. Ditto with Popeye’s Fried Chicken — when will they ever open a location in South Orange County???
I did my high school tour of duty at a Costa Mesa Wendy’s for 2 years in the late 80s. We were part of the breakfast experiment back then with cook-to-order omelets. Great taste, but hardly fast.
RE: thickness … it would be hard to make a 1/4 pound patty thicker. What you’re running into is a lazy cook that flattens the patty on the grill to make it cook faster. That’s just bad training/supervision. (side question: how would making thicker patties bring them closer to in-n-out? I have sheets of paper on my desk thicker than in-n-out patties!)
Actually, I’d be eating at Wendy’s more often if there were *MORE* stores. As it is now, I have to drive 5 miles (one way) from work or home to get food there. Sometimes it’s worth it, sometimes it’s not.
Fatburger OWNS all others, including in-n-out. They are huge and messy and have 1000 times more flavor than in-n-out. If you haven’t had them, GO IMMEDIATELY.
Putting Wendy’s on the same list with In-N-Out is funny.
I like one sandwich at Wendy’s … the Cheddar Mushroom melt they put on the menu once every 5 years or so. Everything else pales in comparison to Carl’s.
Personally, I am a Carl’s Jr. fan, but I knew Carl and Margaret as family friends. They have the best choices of food in my opinion so there is always something good. Sadly, Wendy’s is just blah and McDonalds makes me ill!
Wendy’s always has great tasting burgers & fries, plus the Frosty is the topper of the meal. Fatburger is overpriced and so so tasting. In-N-Out is great too.
The problem with Wendy’s is the franchise system. Also, their employees are not chosen well. Everytime I go into the Wendy’s on Culver and Walnut, the place is a mess. It takes light years for their employees to get up off their butts and clean the place. Also, the seating area is a mess - only two booths and they are back to back. Very claustrophobic. Finally, they keep the soda fountain behind the counter, which is a big, big mistake. People go to In and Out and drink soda until it comes out of their ears. Then they go to Wendy’s and it feels like Fort Knox. Goodbye Wendy’s.
I have to agree about the In N Out burgers. I’ve never understood why they are so popular. They are too salty, to thin, and too dry.
Wendy’s has the freshest, best quality food of all of al the fast feeders. Where else could you substitute a baked potato, salad or chili for french fries in a combo? BTW, you can get cheese on a baked potato - I had it that way today.
Dave Thomas never would have let things get so bad.
I like Wendy’s burgers; the patties are juicy, the buns are fresh and the accesories are always fresh and crisp.
But the Wendy’s employees are universally awful, and the facility looks like it needs a deep cleaning and a 21st century remodel. My local Wendy’s here in Orange is staffed with people who have a limited grasp of English and has apprently never been taught how to say words like “Thank you” or “Please”. I only go there when I happen to be directly in sight of the place and am hungry.
Just up Tustin Avenue from that Wendy’s is an In-N-Out staffed by polite, clean cut kids who speak English fluently and always serve up my food with a smile and a thank you. These types of kids do exist, and In-N-Out always seems to hire them and train them well, so there is no excuse for Wendy’s to not do the same.
Quite simply, In-N-Out beats the socks off of every other burger joint in town.
Wendy’s is ok for a burger. In - N- Out is tooooo over rated. I nevr saw what the hype is for their burgers. TK Burger in Newport and other locations through out OC is the BEST in my opinion - I love the charbroiled taste and the bun is good!
Troy said:
“But the Wendy’s employees are universally awful, and the facility looks like it needs a deep cleaning and a 21st century remodel. My local Wendy’s here in Orange is staffed with people who have a limited grasp of English and has apprently never been taught how to say words like “Thank you” or “Please”. I only go there when I happen to be directly in sight of the place and am hungry.”
Troy, I hear you, but that’s not unique to Wendy’s in Orange County. It’s pretty common and obviously becoming more common every day around here. It’s said what’s become of Orange County in the last 20 years. Give it some time and unfortunately In N Out will have the same quality of worker that Wendy’s has. In another few years, that’s all that will be available in the labor pool.
Nick: I just saw your note..
Fast-food is also about good branding/marketing — even Kourie admitted to that. in the story. The reason I never walked into a Wendy’s is because they have not done a good job of telling consumers what they have to offer me.
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Things haven’t been the same at Wendy’s since they haven’t used their longtime voice over man Joe Sirola. That was classic Wendy’s. Bring back Joe!
The warm chicken on the salads is a terrible idea and doesn’t appear to be going over very well. Who wants hot chicken sitting on cold lettuce, wilting it, and cheese that winds up getting melted?
[...] Orange County Wendy’s operator Mike Kourie said Wendy’s is addressing consumer demand by piloting iced coffee drinks. [...]