There's Actually a Damn Good Reason Wendy's Burgers Are Square

Cheeseburgers from Wendys
Courtesy of Wendy's
Courtesy of Wendy's

Before I was born, my dad ran a Wendy's franchise. Whenever I'd ask him why Wendy's burgers are square -- and not the traditional round puck -- he'd reply, "Because Wendy's doesn't cut corners, son."

I'd always assumed this was a (better-than-usual) dad joke. But as it turns out, he wasn't too far off. As a kind-of adult, I needed to know exactly why the patties from the redhead in ribbons are square. Was it a special cooking method? Is it easier to ship square meat -- are logistics behind this cornered burger?

Nope. It's all about nostalgia, grandmas, and not being afraid to show your meat to the masses.

"That idea of 'not cutting corners' is not far from the actual truth," said Frank Vamos, director of brand communications for the company. 

Dave Thomas' Grandma Minnie instilled that oft-repeated phrase into her grandson. When he founded Wendy's -- he kept that in mind. 

"That's a message Dave Thomas wanted to instill throughout the company so it's definitely symbolic," Vamos said.

"Another big reason is that Dave was always very confident in the quality of our meat. He wanted to make sure that the patty sticks out of the bun so that everyone can see it, see the juiciness. And the square patty does that," he added.

Over the course of time, the square patty has become just as iconic as the logo, or the Frosty. And that old dad joke actually explained it all.

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Wil Fulton is a staff writer for Thrillist. He actually blames Gwyneth Paltrow for most of the world's problems. Follow him @wilfulton.