American fast food giant Wendy's ready for January launch in Australia

[storewanderer]

My U.K. based friends don't really talk about it after the initial novelty wore off. I hope that won't be the case for Australia.

Thanks for posting @submariner

Wendy's, quality and value wise, is the best of the "big 3" American burger chains.

I hope they do well in Australia.

I still agree with this but I'd call Wendys a "below average" chain at this point. McDonalds is beyond "poor" and Burger King is beyond "poor" in the US.

[submariner]

My U.K. based friends don't really talk about it after the initial novelty wore off. I hope that won't be the case for Australia.

Thanks for posting @submariner

Wendy's, quality and value wise, is the best of the "big 3" American burger chains.

I hope they do well in Australia.

I still agree with this but I'd call Wendys a "below average" chain at this point. McDonalds is beyond "poor" and Burger King is beyond "poor" in the US.

I mean, that still qualifies as the best of the big 3

Seriously though in the United States, the 'big 3' are generally options you can reliably expect to be present virtually anywhere, so being the best of these is a big deal. Are there better chains? Of course, but those will tend to be regional or even smaller options.

In Australia, the big Fast Food chains are McDonald's, KFC, and Hungry Jack's (mostly in that order). you'll find one pretty much anywhere. That said, there is still a reliance on local offerings here overall so fast food in general isn't as big a deal here. Local coffee shops rule the roost, so much so that Starbucks has a difficult time here (in face in Canberra, there's not a Starbucks for over 100km from the city, the national capital. We're better off for it IMO (despite my craving for an ice cold Starbucks refresher)

[buckguy]

Wendy's, quality and value wise, is the best of the "big 3" American burger chains.

I hope they do well in Australia.

I still agree with this but I'd call Wendys a "below average" chain at this point. McDonalds is beyond "poor" and Burger King is beyond "poor" in the US.

I mean, that still qualifies as the best of the big 3

Seriously though in the United States, the 'big 3' are generally options you can reliably expect to be present virtually anywhere, so being the best of these is a big deal. Are there better chains? Of course, but those will tend to be regional or even smaller options.

In Australia, the big Fast Food chains are McDonald's, KFC, and Hungry Jack's (mostly in that order). you'll find one pretty much anywhere. That said, there is still a reliance on local offerings here overall so fast food in general isn't as big a deal here. Local coffee shops rule the roost, so much so that Starbucks has a difficult time here (in face in Canberra, there's not a Starbucks for over 100km from the city, the national capital. We're better off for it IMO (despite my craving for an ice cold Starbucks refresher)

Wendy's is one of the few fast food chains from the US that has pulled out of foreign countries. Part of the problem may be that they've often been a latecomer.

[storewanderer]

Wendy's, quality and value wise, is the best of the "big 3" American burger chains.

I hope they do well in Australia.

I still agree with this but I'd call Wendys a "below average" chain at this point. McDonalds is beyond "poor" and Burger King is beyond "poor" in the US.

I mean, that still qualifies as the best of the big 3

Seriously though in the United States, the 'big 3' are generally options you can reliably expect to be present virtually anywhere, so being the best of these is a big deal. Are there better chains? Of course, but those will tend to be regional or even smaller options.

In Australia, the big Fast Food chains are McDonald's, KFC, and Hungry Jack's (mostly in that order). you'll find one pretty much anywhere. That said, there is still a reliance on local offerings here overall so fast food in general isn't as big a deal here. Local coffee shops rule the roost, so much so that Starbucks has a difficult time here (in face in Canberra, there's not a Starbucks for over 100km from the city, the national capital. We're better off for it IMO (despite my craving for an ice cold Starbucks refresher)

Is the McDonalds there better than it is in the US?

It sure was better over in Asia. Better in the sense that it was efficient, food came out hot, etc. Taste was how it tastes in the US IF it comes out hot, IF the fries are cooked all the way, etc. Those locations were so busy there was no holding time issue there unlike these US units where they aren't very busy and stuff sits around way too long and they serve food that should have been tossed.

Canada McDonalds also seemed to execute better. The baked goods in the Canada McDonalds (cookies/muffins) tasted far better than the US ones and the Canada McDonalds still served ice cream that tasted like actual creamy ice cream unlike the odd shiny sweet white substance the US McDonalds serves which is called "vanilla." Not even "frozen dairy dessert" or "ice milk" anymore.

[storewanderer]

I still agree with this but I'd call Wendys a "below average" chain at this point. McDonalds is beyond "poor" and Burger King is beyond "poor" in the US.

I mean, that still qualifies as the best of the big 3

Seriously though in the United States, the 'big 3' are generally options you can reliably expect to be present virtually anywhere, so being the best of these is a big deal. Are there better chains? Of course, but those will tend to be regional or even smaller options.

In Australia, the big Fast Food chains are McDonald's, KFC, and Hungry Jack's (mostly in that order). you'll find one pretty much anywhere. That said, there is still a reliance on local offerings here overall so fast food in general isn't as big a deal here. Local coffee shops rule the roost, so much so that Starbucks has a difficult time here (in face in Canberra, there's not a Starbucks for over 100km from the city, the national capital. We're better off for it IMO (despite my craving for an ice cold Starbucks refresher)

Wendy's is one of the few fast food chains from the US that has pulled out of foreign countries. Part of the problem may be that they've often been a latecomer.

Despite my low opinion of Burger King they have definitely been a lot more successful on the foreign expansion front. Perhaps they are more flexible with their operators which comes with some plusses and minuses. For instance the ~800 Russia Burger Kings under a franchise are still open despite losing support from the mother company years ago. Most franchisors were able to force closures there, but Burger King was unable to.

Also looking at this Youtube video I see Cinnabon still open in Russia. The Burger King menu there definitely looks like it isn't being supported by US anymore, but the kiosk interface is identical to what I've seen in the US recent installs of kiosks.
~ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHcm7fthj7g
Cannot believe how good that Russia Burger King food looks. Maybe losing support from the US Burger King helped them.

[submariner]

This week, Wendy's opened their first Australian location, in Gold Coast, Queensland.

For their chicken tenders, Wendy's has introduced an Australian-exclusive dipping sauce in addition to familiar staples such as Wendy's famous Classic Single, Double, and Triple as well as the Baconmator (spelled cheekily with an "m"... What'd ya expect, mate?)

Interestingly, the Chicken side of the menu is all breaded and the sandwiches use tenders rather than chicken patties.

Side dish aficionados will be relieved to hear Wendy's Chili has made the trip as well as their natural cut fries (regular and loaded varieties). Baked potatoes however did not make the cut.

Finally, it wouldn't be a Wendy's menu without the Frosty, perfect for the summer days at Surfer's Paradise.

https://www.wendyshamburgers.com.au/

[BillyGr]

For their chicken tenders, Wendy's has introduced an Australian-exclusive dipping sauce in addition to familiar staples such as Wendy's famous Classic Single, Double, and Triple as well as the Baconmator (spelled cheekily with an "m"... What'd ya expect, mate?)

Does that mean that locations in Florida should be advertising the Bacongater?

[storewanderer]

Menu looks very basic.

Hand Breaded Chicken Tenders- have not seen this product in the US.

I don't see breakfast?

[submariner]

Menu looks very basic.

Hand Breaded Chicken Tenders- have not seen this product in the US.

I don't see breakfast?

I think the menu is limited for a couple reasons... first, They probably won't want to invest in a large menu until they're confident of their foothold? They would also need to secure local suppliers. This is probably why baked potatoes aren't on the menu here as russet potatoes are not grown in Australia (this is to my sadness, as the other options here aren't exactly the same).

[storewanderer]

Menu looks very basic.

Hand Breaded Chicken Tenders- have not seen this product in the US.

I don't see breakfast?

I think the menu is limited for a couple reasons... first, They probably won't want to invest in a large menu until they're confident of their foothold? They would also need to secure local suppliers. This is probably why baked potatoes aren't on the menu here as russet potatoes are not grown in Australia (this is to my sadness, as the other options here aren't exactly the same).

It may help them get going easier to keep the menu very simple with "core" items.

The potato comment makes me think also that they probably didn't install ovens in these units. Since the ovens also are used for cookies and for some of the breakfast menu.

So this could be another reason for the small menu: less equipment needed.