It's no secret that when it comes to fast food we've often looked to our friends across the pond to set the tone. So, when it was announced last summer that fast-food giant Wendy's would re-launch in the UK, there was a fair bit of excitement.
And now, as the American diner prepares to to go nationwide in the UK again - two decades after its first attempt to roll-out the concept here - it's been announced that a site in Manchester is in the pipeline. Wendy's, best known for its square burgers including the Baconater, its beaming logo and Frosty Shakes, announced plans to open restaurants in the UK last summer, with Reading its first location.
The burger concept left the UK in 2001, blaming high operating costs and property prices, but returned last summer with plans to open further venues. Abigail Pringle, president of Wendy's, told The Times that the company had taken "a fresh look" at its international strategy prior to expansion in the UK again.
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Pringle told The Times: "Our brand is based on high-quality fresh ingredients like British beef in contrast to the frozen beef most of our competitors use. In the past, we did the same but we’ve made the investment this time.” She also told the paper that the company would hopefully end up with 20-25 of its own restaurants and the rest would be franchises.
Currently, the business is focusing on the north of England, where its franchise partner, Square Burgers, will open the first dine-in restaurant in Sheffield next month. Wendy's units in Manchester and Liverpool will also open in due course.
While no location has been confirmed for the Manchester branch, it was a natural choice given the popularity of places such as home-grown burger joint Archie's - the fastest-growing independent UK restaurant group last - and newcomers such as Burgerism, which started life as a dark kitchen concept and now has plans to expand across Manchester.
Founded in 1969 by Dave Thomas in Columbus, Wendy's now boasts a portfolio of 7,000 restaurants, including 1,000 outside of the United States. Its square-shaped burgers range from the Jr. Hamburger to the Bacon and Jalapeno Triple Cheeseburger, which weighs in at 1280 calories.
The famous burger concept also serves up a variety of breakfast options, as well as salads and chicken dishes. For those watching the pennies, the brand, much like its competitors McDonald's and Burger King, also offers a value menu to help customers keep costs down.
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