Growing up, Wendy’s was hands down my favorite fast food spot. It still is. When the lunch budget was tight (as it often is now) Wendy’s was always the go-to because of the undeniably fresh food at low prices. I could choose something from the Value or Super Value Menu and never have to worry that I was sacrificing quality for a good price.
Sorry McDonald’s. IMO, you can’t beat “always fresh, never frozen.”
They have Frostys that are just begging you to dip your fries in them (when I was a kid there was only one flavor). And hello, The Baconator? Wendy’s knows that the way to my heart is anything with ridiculous amounts of bacon on it. Or just bacon period. Because bacon gives me life.
But the question we are all asking is…
Why the square patty?
There’s a method to the madness. In fact, there are two reasons behind this unconventionally shaped burger.
Reason 1
The square patty with corners sticking out of the bun allows customers to see the quality of Wendy’s meat.
Frank Vamos (the Director of Brand Communications for the company) told Thrillist that Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas was so confident in the quality of the meat that, “[He] wanted to make sure that the patty sticks out of the bun so that everyone can see it, see the juiciness.”
I don’t know about you, but if I can literally see my burger sweating juice, I know all is right with the world. Juiciness is section #2 of Burger Law (#1 is flavor just in case you were wondering). If it ain’t juicy then is it really a burger?
Reason 2
The square shape of the patty is actually a symbolic message that the company doesn’t cut corners.
Whoa. Deep, right? Apparently Dave’s grandmother Millie had often told him not to cut corners and he decided to incorporate this ideal into his company both figuratively and literally.
Dave had this to say regarding Wendys’ gutsy motto ‘quality is our recipe,’ “When I started Wendy’s in 1969, ‘Quality is Our Recipe’ was our motto. Our focus on quality hasn’t changed, and it never will. Wendy’s offers customers the highest quality food and freshest ingredients […] and fast, courteous service […] We have to earn our customers’ loyalty every day, and exceed their expectations on every visit. That’s our mission and our focus […]”
It doesn’t get much better than that folks. Think about it, whenever you order a Wendy’s burger, you’re getting the guarantee of hot, fresh, deliciousness 100% of the time. It’s a bold statement but they’ve got the beef to back it up.