Burger fans queued in their droves as a major US fast-food chain opened its doors in Exeter, with the first 100 customers rewarded with a free burger and a DJ set to mark the occasion.
Wendy’s opened at Alphington Business Park on Thursday, February 26. Balloons and music welcomed those at the front of a lengthy queue as the restaurant began trading.
Farhat Abbas, development franchisee of Wendy’s in Exeter, said: “It’s incredibly exciting. This has been something we’ve been planning for the last couple of years, so we have the southwest territory, and we identified Plymouth and Exeter as our first go-to locations.”
He said the Exeter branch occupies a former Chiquito’s site that had been closed for six years.
Farhat added: “There was a lot of work behind the scenes, getting the planning, getting the design side of things, and I’m delighted we’ve got the brand new Wendy’s 2026 décor, so this is the first one in England with this new look.”
Wendy’s is a major American international fast-food chain founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. It is known for its square-shaped burger patties made from fresh beef and is the world’s third-largest hamburger chain. Its menu includes the Frosty dessert, the Baconator, salads and chicken sandwiches.
Speaking about what customers can expect, he said: “Fresh, never frozen, fantastic food.”
He added: “On top of that, we want to give them the customary Wendy’s hospitality, and we’re very lucky, we’ve got a great young team ready to go and to serve our clients.
“We’ve got the whole package, free parking, fantastic new décor, and plenty of capacity. We have seating for in excess of 80 people here, and this is there for the people to enjoy and give us an opportunity and let us show you what we can do.”
The restaurant employs 60 staff. Farhat said a mix of part-time, student and full-time roles had been created to accommodate flexible working patterns. He added that the business is still hiring and encouraged prospective applicants to look online for opportunities.
Opening hours are Monday to Saturday from 7 am until 11 pm, and Sunday from 8 am until 11 pm.
He added that the company had seen strong demand at its Plymouth site at Drake Shopping Centre and plans to continue expanding in the region.
He said: “Here in the South West, we’ve had a phenomenal start in Plymouth, and the customers embraced us with open arms, so we’re going to continue to work on accelerating our development plan. Exeter was our next go-to location.
“This is the first drive-through location of Wendy’s in the whole south west, and Wendy’s invented the whole drive-thru concept, so we’re looking for additional locations, but we want to make sure we tick all the boxes, so watch this space.”
