⇒ Whataburger: The regional chain started back when there were no patties bigger than 4 inches. Founder Harmon Dobson wanted a 5-inch burger that would make people exclaim “What a burger!” The name stuck.
⇒ Wendy’s: Dave Thomas opened the first Wendy’s in Columbus OH in 1969, and named it after his daughter Melinda, who was nicknamed Wendy. (You knew this one, right?)
⇒ Subway: In 1965, Pete’s Super Submarines was opened in Bridgeport CT, by Frank DeLuca and Peter Buck. They renamed it “Pete’s Subway” a few years later. In 1974, DeLuca and Buck wanted to sell franchises, so they simply renamed it Subway.
⇒ Starbucks: Co-founder Gordon Bowker heard from a friend who worked at an ad agency that words that started with “st” were considered powerful. The two came across a map with a town on it called “Starbo.” Bowker was reminded of the character ‘Starbuck’ from “Moby Dick”, and a coffee giant was born. FUN FACT: They also considered calling the place “Pequod,” after the ship in Moby Dick.
⇒ Domino’s: Brothers Jim and Tom Monaghan bought a pizza place called DomiNick’s in Ypsilanti, MI, in 1960. When the seller wanted to retain his rights to the name, the brothers had to come up with a new one fast to make a deadline to put their name in the phone book. “Domino’s” was reportedly dreamed up by a delivery driver named Jim Kennedy.
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