The Requirements Wendy's Founder Had For The Original Frosty

Wendy's has been a staple in fast food for many years now, since its' inception in 1969. The first Wendy's restaurant opened in Columbus, Ohio, and immediately became a sensation, offering signature square burger patties and the first pick-up window, as it was called at the time, in 1970, per the Wendy's website. By 1978, there were 1,000 Wendy's across the United States, and that number only continued to grow. 

But Wendy's is more than just square burgers and a decent chicken sandwich. Need an example? Look no further than one of the things Wendy's is most famous for — its iconic Frosty. Sure, each burger chain has to have its own version of an ice cream treat (for instance, McDonald's McFlurry, Dairy Queen's Blizzard, and of course, the Frosty).

Wendy's founder Dave Thomas built his fast food empire out of his love for good hamburgers, along with a desire to provide delicious, fresh food served by smiling faces, according to Wendy's. It was a labor of love that filled a need, so you best believe he set strict standards for all the food including the Frosty as his dream became reality. 

The Frosty was one of just five items on the original Wendy's menu when it first opened back in 1969, per an archived explainer originally published on the franchise's site (via the Wayback Machine). Thomas called up an old friend by the name of Fred Kappus, who at the time was working at the family business distributing ice cream machines and food service equipment. Per the Wendy's website, Thomas figured Kappus' expertise could help in developing a tasty frozen item for his menu. 

Fred Kappus picked up the phone — and boy did he have an idea. "The Frosty formula was inspired by ice cream that a race track in Cleveland had in the 1960s," Fred shared on the Wendy's site. "A lot of people in Cleveland were familiar with the frosted malts [made] by our machines." Inspired by ice cream at a local racetrack, which featured a slightly malted treat that mixed chocolate and vanilla ice cream in a secret ratio with some other top-secret ingredients, Kappus pitched a similar idea to Thomas. The fast food franchise founder loved it — along with the proposed flavor and thickness of the Frosty — and it has remained unchanged over the years.

Looking for a cross between a milkshake and a dish of soft serve, the Frosty needed to meet one strict specification for Dave Thomas. According to a 2006 press release, the now-former Wendy's executive vice president and chief marketing officer Ian Rowden, "Dave wanted a dessert on the menu that was so thick you had to eat it with a spoon" — and that specificity seemed to work (via the Wayback Machine). Rowden even credited them for the dessert's enduring fan base, calling it "one of the best known, most popular and enduring items on our menu."

Today, the Frosty is still thick and sweet just as it always has been, even with the introduction of new Frosty flavors over the years. Though it was first offered to customers as a single option with a light chocolate-y flavor, today you can get Frostys in vanilla, chocolate, swirl, or even strawberry. Dave would be proud!