Wendy’s, the quick-service restaurant brand that opened its doors and brought its signature fresh beef to Canada in 1975, is now celebrating a major growth milestone and introducing a wholly enhanced restaurant design to Canada with the opening of its 400th restaurant in the country. The new restaurant at 2545 Carling Avenue in Ottawa, owned by Wendy’s franchisee the Thakker organization, not only marks a significant milestone, but it also features the new Wendy’s International brand standard for design. The new brand standard includes a smaller footprint with a simple, efficient design that costs less to build while being adaptable to a range of locations including urban retail locations, food courts, drive-thru only and even shipping containers.
An Important Milestone
The opening of Wendy’s 400th restaurant in Canada is a significant milestone and is a testament to the brand’s leadership in design innovation and recent growth as it strives to bring more Wendy’s to more Canadians in more ways.
“Wendy’s has strong momentum in Canada with nine years of consecutive same restaurant sales growth, and the addition of more than 50 new locations across the country in recent years,” says Abigail Pringle, Wendy’s President, International and Chief Development Officer. “We’ve driven this growth by embracing Wendy’s continued points of difference, including sourcing high-quality Canadian ingredients like fresh Canadian beef; continually investing in menu innovation and quality like our new Hot & Crispy fries, Strawberry Frosty and Canadian greenhouse-grown lettuce; improving the sustainability of our packaging and investing in our delivery and digital business to reach more customers, more often.”
Continuing the Momentum
The brand isn’t stopping with its 400th location.
“Looking ahead, and with commitments from current franchisees and through the recruitment of future franchise partners, we’ve laid out an ambitious plan to significantly accelerate growth,” adds Pringle. “Expanding our presence also allows us to create more career opportunities as we bring more high-quality, freshly prepared food to customers across Canada.”
Wendy’s is actively recruiting new franchisees across Canada, with significant opportunity in Quebec, one of the most populous provinces in Canada, and the Maritimes. Both are regions where Wendy’s currently has a lower footprint and is looking to expand.
Additionally, Wendy’s is innovating to provide more access and convenience for urban customers, including through investments in its mobile app and delivery business and through a new development commitment with REEF to open and operate 700 delivery kitchens over the next five years across Canada, the U.S. and the UK. The pilot with REEF started in Canada in 2020 and there are now nine REEF delivery kitchen locations to-date across the country.
Customer-Centric Design on Display in Canada’s 400th Restaurant
The state-of-the-art Ottawa restaurant, which is the first free-standing version of the new next generation global 2.0 brand standard in Canada, is designed to optimize the Wendy’s experience for customers, restaurant team members and delivery drivers. It includes one exterior pick-up window that serves two purposes: one side is for drive-thru customers and the other is a walk-up window for delivery drivers. This allows those who are ordering via drive thru to place their orders faster and at the same time increases the speed for delivery pickup. The interior includes a new order flow system, modern finishes, lighting and artwork and the latest, highest efficiency HVAC system that utilizes significantly more fresh air from outside with much less reliance on recirculated air.
Additional restaurants following this design are in development across Canada, including Parksville, Vancouver Island and a drive-thru and walk-up only model in Trenton.
