Wendy's first restaurant opened in Columbus, Ohio in November of 1969. The founder, R. David Thomas, named his new restaurant after his daughter. Mr. Thomas' philosophy was a simple one: serve a fresh, never frozen, hamburger with the guests' choice of condiments, in a clean and friendly atmosphere, as quickly and as accurately as possible. That simple but effective philosophy allowed Mr. Thomas' business to grow into one of the most successful restaurant companies in the world.

In 1972, Mr. Thomas sold his first franchise to L.S. Hartzog, a bun manufacturer from Indianapolis, Indiana. In June of 1975 the 100th Wendy's opened in Louisville, Kentucky. By December 1976, Wendy's 500th restaurant was opened. In the next 15 months Wendy's doubled in size to 1,000 restaurants. Wendy's had doubled again in size to 2,000 restaurants by 1980. A DavCo restaurant in Silver Spring, Maryland was Wendy's 2,500th restaurant. Wendy's continued to grow through the 1980's to become one of the largest quick service restaurant companies in the world. That rapid growth continues; Wendy's and its franchisees now operate more than 5,000 restaurants in the U.S. and 34 countries.

Wendy's dedication to quality has not wavered as it has grown. Throughout the years, Wendy's has led the industry in hamburger quality while developing a varied menu with chicken sandwiches, baked potatoes, and salads. In 1990 Wendy's introduced the Super Value Menu, which still offers customers their choice of Wendy's favorites at a price that is pocketbook friendly.

In 1976, the Davenport family - founders of the Krystal company, a major fast food chain in the southeastern United States - bought the franchise rights from Wendy's for the metropolitan areas of Baltimore MD, Washington DC, and St. Louis MO. The Davenports named this franchise DavCo. DavCo grew to over 100 restaurants and in 1988, DavCo's current Chairman and CEO Harvey Rothstein and former Chairman, CEO and President Ron Kirstien purchased the Baltimore and Washington markets of DavCo in a leveraged buy out, and the St. Louis market was sold separately to a local businessman. In 1990 DavCo reacquired the St. Louis market as a wholly owned subsidiary - MDF, Inc. In August of 1993, DavCo announced an initial public offering, offering stock to the public trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange. In September 1994, DavCo acquired Southern Hospitality Corporation, a 35 restaurant Wendy's franchise in Nashville, Tennessee. DavCo continued to grow with commitments to Wendy's to build 50 - 60 more restaurants in the coming years.

In 1998, an investment group headed by former President, Chairman and CEO, Ron Kirstien and current Chairman and CEO, Harvey Rothstein purchased all of the outstanding shares of DavCo stock taking the company private. This move gave DavCo more control over the decisions made for the good of the company and positioned the company well for the growth to come. During 1998, a decision was made to sell the MDF business unit to local businessmen and concentrate on the core Mid-Atlantic and Southeast markets. In 1999, DavCo sold its SHC business unit to another Wendy's franchisee to concentrate on the Mid-Atlantic Wendy's Restaurants.

DavCo Restaurants is the world's largest Wendy's franchisee with an enviable reputation for progressive and professional management. DavCo is poised to grow continually and effectively well into the 21st century.

• 1976 - First DavCo Wendy's Restaurant opens (Baltimore, Washington, St. Louis)
• 1980 - 44 DavCo Wendy's open
• 1987 - Aggressive growth
• 1991 - Management leveraged buyout, Midwest market sold
• 1993 - Initial public offering of DavCo stock
• 1994 - Southern Division (Southern Hospitality Corp.) acquired
• 1998 - Midwest restaurants sold to local ownership
• 1998 - Company taken private by President/Chairman/CEO, Sr. Executive Vice President and investment group
• 1999 - Southern Division sold to Local ownership group.
• 2002 - Own and operate over 155 Wendy's in the Baltimore - Washington market.
• 2004 - Chairman CEO and President Ron Kirstien retires. Senior Executive Vice President Harvey Rothstein promoted by the Board to Chairman and CEO and Executive Vice President of Operations. Joe Cunnane promoted to President and COO. The two executives each have over 25 years of service at Davco.
• 2007 – President and COO, Joe Cunnane retires. Executive Vice President and CFO, Dave Norman promoted to President/General Counsel and Executive Vice President, Operations Rick Borchers promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Borchers is approaching his 31 year anniversary and Mr. Norman his 19 year anniversary with DavCo.

• World's largest Wendy's Franchisee
• Ranked 8th largest restaurant franchisee in the U. S.
• 1 of the top 10 largest employers in the Mid-Atlantic region
• Strategically positioned for aggressive growth well into the 21st Century

To be recognized by our guests and our employees as the premier restaurant company within our operating areas and corporate systems, dedicated to delivering excellence consistently through a strong network of caring employees who value personal and professional growth.

CORE VALUES

• We value our PEOPLE as our most important asset.
• We value HONESTY, INTEGRITY, TRUST and ETHICAL behavior and pledge to uphold these beliefs with our guests, employees, vendors and neighbors.
• We value INTERNAL GROWTH and recognize our obligation to continually TEACH, providing resources for our people to realize rewarding career opportunities.
• We value and demand the highest OPERATING STANDARDS and we will not compromise our core values or operating standards.
• We value quality LEADERSHIP and EXAMPLE SETTING and believe leaders take full responsibility and accountability for their team's performance.
• We value INNOVATION and IMPROVEMENT in our working environment, operating systems, and general business practices and their role as keys to competitive growth. Therefore, we resolve to strive each day to improve our business in some measurable way.

CULTURE

• We understand that we are an OPERATING company first. Our number one mission is to create a positive experience for each and every guest.
• We take pride in the DavCo name and are passionate about upholding the QUALITY IMAGE of our concepts by delivering fresh products using the correct recipes and standards on a consistent basis, and by wisely REINVESTING in our facilities to remain current and competitive.
• We value and take pride in our STRONG NETWORK of support, both corporate staff and business partners. ·
• We are focused on our obligation as a team to achieve our goals and objectives through a resolve of uncompromising TENACITY and CRITICAL THINKING.
• Our management style will support our people by providing CLEAR DIRECTION and maintaining an environment that requires TEACHING and encourages LEARNING, has tolerance for HONEST MISTAKES, and fosters a PASSION for being the best in the business.
• Our primary measure of performance is SALES, with an awareness of our obligation to produce planned margins and maximize shareholder value.
• Our organization will be known for QUALITY CONCEPTS, providing a POSITIVE ENVIRONMENT for our employees and exceptional satisfaction for our guests.

  …and HAVE FUN