What's The Actual Reason Wendy's Burgers Are Square?

With all the different fast food restaurants available for consumers to choose from nowadays, a company must look for anything it can to set itself apart from competitors. From mascots to unique slogans and even the shape of the food it serves, a fast food restaurant's branding is almost as important as the quality of its food. Take Wendy's, for example. Whether you think Wendy's is serving up the best or worst fast food burger on the market, there is no denying that the patties are distinctly different from most other burger joints.

Wendy's burgers are square shaped, with all four corners sticking out from the round bun it sits between. This choice to emphasize how different Wendy's burgers look was done purposefully by the restaurant's founder, Dave Thomas. The restaurateur wanted to visually indicate to customers that "we don't cut corners," per Wendy's website.

Another phrase that the restaurant often uses is that the burgers "look different because they are different." Distinguishing a differently shaped patty from other fast food burgers helped Wendy's create a sense of individuality when advertising freshness, another element that the company places a lot of emphasis on. All the square patties are promoted as cooked fresh, never frozen — something that McDonald's and other competitors cannot say about many of the menu items offered. By placing emphasis on the burger's shape and quality, many customers now associate the sight of a square patty with Wendy's restaurants, and by extension, being made fresh.

The square shape of Wendy's burger patties isn't all for looks. John Li, the president of culinary innovation at Wendy's shared with CNN Business that there is another reason why the restaurant shapes their burger patties into squares. In addition to being instantly recognizable, Li shared, "We can fit more square hamburgers on a single grill than round ones." This convenient shape allows for more burgers to be cooked evenly at a quicker pace and ensures they don't fall apart on the grill. This leads to fast service and satisfied customers.

Wendy's is not the only restaurant that utilizes square patties, but it is amongst the most popular. Dave Thomas borrowed the unique shape from a restaurant he worked at before creating Wendy's, which goes to show that imitation is the best form of flattery. Thomas felt it was important for customers to see the burger's edges to ensure its high quality before taking a bite (via Wendy's).

Next time you find yourself biting into one of Wendy's famous square shaped patties, take a look at the patty peeking out from beyond the bun, and determine for yourself whether or not it makes the burger appear as fresh as promised.