Wendy’s has announced the opening of their first store in the United Kingdom. Located in Reading, Berkshire, the menu will include traditional U.S. favorites, but in addition will offer the Veggie Stack, Veggie Bites, and Avocado Veggie Salad.
Abigail Pringle, President, International and Chief Development Officer for the Wendy’s Company, noted “Our team is working on opening additional restaurants across the country starting in the Southeast and establishing new franchisee partnerships to help us quickly scale and expand our brand presence.” Liz Geraghty, Chief Marketing Officer, International for the Wendy’s Company, noted that the store will serve British beef patties and the menu will incorporate British produce.
It is interesting that Wendy’s selected Reading for their first store. On October 10th 2019, Chick-Fil-A ® opened their first U.K. location in the Oracle Mall in Reading. The advent of the store in the U.K. was greeted by concerted opposition from LGBTQ organizations responding to statements made by CEO Dan Cathy regarding single-sex marriage and corporate donations to groups opposed to gender-tolerance. The store closed shortly after opening.
As a noncontroversial company with acceptable products, Wendy’s may have greater success in the university city of Reading.