Wendy’s is making a return to these shores.
Comebacks are a tricky business: just look at Gareth Bale and Tottenham. Nevertheless, a bid to recapture and even exceed past glories is a powerful instinct, and US fast food chain Wendy’s is the latest to embark on just such an adventure. The burgers-and-nuggs outlet has already opened sites in Reading, Oxford, and Stratford, as reported earlier this year, and now their Croydon site is joining the party from November 16.
It’s excellent news for anyone who’s already done the Shake Shack-Five Guys-Wahlburgers route and is looking for a new burger joint to try. It is not, however, the first time we’ve seen Wendy’s in London; previous franchises could be found around Oxford Circus and Shaftesbury Avenue in the 1990s, although the final UK-based Wendy’s closed in 2000. Still, they’ve decided the time is right for another go, and like many a chain before them, they’re actively looking for London spots to open – put of a rumoured push to launch twenty UK restaurants in the next eighteen months.
One of those is the Stratford restaurant, which was the first branch to open in London earlier this this year, with Croydon following in its footsteps. This location will actually be within spitting distance of a Taco Bell, the aforementioned Five Guys, and BOXPARK Croydon, so there’ll be stiff competition around these parts. Regardless, they’ll need to bring something special to crack the list of London’s best burger joints, but with a cult following and decent name recognition behind them, I’d wager you’ll be seeing them around London’s tourist spots before long.
Find Wendy’s Croydon at 19-20 Wellesley Road, CR9 1NG (nearest station East Croydon) from November 16, 2021. Find Wendy’s Stratford at 52 Broadway, E15 1XE (nearest station is Stratford).