1982 Wilmington opens Wendy's Restaurant

If you look very closely you can see HH in profile on the far right, about second row back wearing glasses.  I presume it is Jean's hair that can be seen slightly behind him.  Transcription and notes follows:

Wilmington News-Journal January 5, 1982, photo by Dana Dunn
Area residents now have a new restaurant choice available to them as Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers opened its restaurant in Wilmington at 10:30am today.

Wade Hufford of Wilmington became the first customer shortly after the restaurant opened its doors for business.

On Tuesday evening, a group of area persons were guests at a VIP-Preview Opening at Wendy's newest business located at 1160 Rombach Avenue.

Above, Wendy's area director Doug McDaniel talks to the group.  Other Wendy's officials in attendance were area supervisor Doug Bostick, along with store manager Tom Thompson pictures at the left rear, and co-manager Mark Bell.

Representing the 256 different ways a Wendy's hamburger can be ordered, Wilmington Mayor Robert W. Moyer marked the store opening by symbolically cutting a ribbon made of $256 in cash.

Following the ceremony, Moyer and McDaniel present the money as a gift from Wendy's to the Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

The multiple sclerosis society will also receive 10 percent of money received from all soft drink sales during the restaurant's grand opening week.  The group was selected to receive the donation because of the charity's extensive involvement in the Wilmington area, as well as its worldwide research efforts to aid the millions of persons who suffer from the disease.

Wilmington multiple sclerosis executive director Michael Flanigan accepted the donation on behalf of the society.

The new restaurant features a traditional Wendy's menu offering such items as 100 percent pure beef hamburgers, french fries, chili and Frosty dairy desserts.  The hamburgers come in three sizes and are pattied fresh daily at the store and are never frozen, a Wendy official said.

According to McDaniel, the Wilmington restaurant will also offer three of Wendy's newest menu items, a boneless all white meat breast of chicken sandwich, a children's Fun-Pak, and an all-you-can-eat salad bar.

Each Wendy's restaurant features a turn-of-the-century design with tiffany lamps, bentwood chairs, rosewood paneling and tablecloths printed with reproductions of 19th century newspapers.  Wendy's also includes a pick-up window with a separate grill and preparation area.

The new store is part of Wendy's International, Inc., which began in Columbus in 1969 when R. David Thomas, now chairman of the board of Wendy's opened his first restaurant with the motto, "Quality is our recipe."

According to officials, the company has grown from one store to become the fifth largest food service company in the world with more than 2,000 restaurants in the United States and six foreign countries.

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Notes:  Dave Thomas was born 2 July 1932 in Atlantic City, New Jersey and died 8 January 2002 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The first restaurant opened in Columbus on 15 November 1969.  Headquarters were moved to Dublin, Ohio in 2006.  As of March 2010, Wendy's was the world's third largest hamburger fast food chain with approximately 6,650 locations.  McDonald's has 31,000+ and Burger King 12,000+.