Dave's Way

The founder of Wendy's International uses anecdotes to reveal the secrets behind his success, offering his marketing and management principles and discussing the connection between family values and business strength. Reprint.

Dave Thomas was born on July 2, 1932 and became one of the most successful restaurateurs in America. In 1969, he founded the iconic Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers and grew it into the world's third-largest quick-service hamburger company, with nearly 6,500 restaurants around the globe. Dave starred in more than 800 commercials and published three books. Inspired by his own upbringing of being adopted when he was six weeks old, he established the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption in 1992. He passed away January 8, 2002.