The World's First Wendy's Location Is Sadly No More

Many of the original locations of beloved fast food chains are either still operational or somehow enshrined. For example, the unofficial McDonald's museum at the site of the world's first Mickey D's in San Bernadino, CA is a fascinating tourist destination. However, while Frosty fans searching for the original Wendy's location in Columbus, OH will find a commemorative sign at 257 East Broad Street, the actual restaurant is no more.

Dave Thomas opened the first Wendy's in 1969, having previously advised no less than Harland Sanders on ways to make his chicken restaurants more profitable (that's right, KFC's Colonel Sanders was a real person.) Thomas found instant success with the iconic Wendy's square hamburger. And by March 1978, Wendy's cut the ribbon on the chain's thousandth location.

The original Wendy's benefitted from proximity to Columbus's beloved COSI, the Center of Science and Industry. When COSI moved to its newer location on West Broad Street in November 1999, Wendy's lost a huge amount of foot traffic from field trips and families visiting the science center. While Wendy's Incorporated resisted closing the original location for years, eventually the economic reality set in. The world's first Wendy's ceased operations on March 2, 2007. As news got around to the community, Wendy's fans flooded the restaurant to say goodbye on its final day.

The site of the original Broad Street Wendy's sat vacant for over two years until it was purchased by the Ohio Catholic Foundation and redeveloped into the Foundation's headquarters. Impressively, the original structure was kept intact while undergoing a massive makeover. The first floor of the Foundation building now houses the Museum of Catholic Art & History.

All of the memorabilia that covered the walls of the first Wendy's was moved to what's now the chain's flagship location in nearby Dublin, across the street from Wendy's corporate headquarters. The location is a functioning Wendy's restaurant that showcases the chain's most current innovations, but the real draw is its community room. There, visitors will find original Wendy's employee uniforms, history about the chain's legendary ad campaigns like "Where's the Beef?", and curiosities such as a Waterford crystal reproduction of a Wendy's square burger valued at $105,000. Since the community room is part of the restaurant, there is no admission fee required to view an official commemoration of Wendy's while enjoying a Baconator.