The full name of the restaurant is Wendy's Famous Hamburgers, and while the perpetual runner-up in American burgers-and-fries chains serves up plenty of Baconators and Double Stacks to throngs of loyal customers, its most famous and signature menu item isn't a savory entrée. Wendy's is undoubtedly best known for its singular sweet treat, the Frosty. With a consistency somewhere in between a milkshake and melted ice cream and most effectively eaten with a spoon rather than sipped through a straw, or frozen dessert restaurants.
Extremely sweet and loaded with velvety smooth chocolate, the Frosty is beloved by millions and strongly associated with the Wendy's brand. To have attained its stature as a fast food staple and classic American dessert, there's a lot of lore and manipulation involved. The story of how the Frosty came to occupy its lofty peak is one filled with secrets, surprises, and a little nastiness.
The Frosty is an imitation of a horse track snack In 1969, Columbus, Ohio, multi-unit Kentucky Fried Chicken franchisee Dave Thomas decided to open his own restaurant, named after his daughter: Wendy's Famous Hamburgers. In the planning stage, and after taking , Thomas realized that he needed a decent frozen dessert on the menu, and asked Fred Kappus if he had any ideas. Kappus ran Kappus Company, a local company that distributed restaurant appliances, including .
Kappus had also provided the equipment for Herman Weistner, a vendor at Thistledown, a popular horse racin.