New Jersey Baby Boomer

Well, to say Dave Thomas brought Chili to New Jersey may be a bit of a stretch, but there is a connection between Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy’s, and New Jersey. He was born here, in Atlantic City, and as for the Chili, thanks to Wendy’s, my Colorado born husband can still get a good bowl of Chili. In fact, it took meeting him to get me into Wendy’s for the first time during our travels, and it’s taken some time, but I’ve developed a taste for Wendy’s delicious chili myself.

Dave Thomas was born here in NJ, and adopted, then lost his Mom at the age of 5. My hubby and I watched a great biography about Dave Thomas…some highlights…he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and later, at the age of 45 he got his GED and publicly encouraged young people not to make the same mistake has he had. He met Colonel Sanders if Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) fame who was a great inspiration to him. He worked for KFC for a time, helping to re-vitalize a few of their fast food restaurants, and became a millionnaire in his mid-30′s through some brilliant financial decisions. There is much to his wonderful biography, but the part we appreciate the most are those great square Wendy’s hamburgers, the excellent Chili, and for me, it was a great day when Wendy’s started having those delicious salads…Taco being my favorite.

Image from Dave Thomas’s CNN Obituary, he passed away in Jan., 2002 at the age of 69.