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The Dave Thomas and Lee Cummings connection with Colonel Sanders

As far as fast food founders go, Wendy’s Dave Thomas and KFC’s Colonel Harland Sanders are among the most famous. But when Thomas was just starting out, they were co-workers. More specifically, Thomas worked under the Colonel at a handful of Kentucky Fried Chicken locations in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

In 1962, Thomas was offered the opportunity to move to Columbus, Ohio, to work in a few struggling KFC franchise locations. Thomas was told that if he turned them around, he’d be rewarded with a 45 percent ownership in the profits of the location.

To save the sinking locations, Thomas made a number of wholesale changes, including paring the then-enormous menu way down and installing a sign that featured a gigantic revolving red and white chicken bucket.

Under Thomas’ direction, the stores made a quick turnaround and Thomas celebrated his new ownership in the company by promptly selling his stake back to Sanders for $1.5 million—which he used to open up his first Wendy’s location in downtown Columbus in 1969. He used that same business acumen to make Wendy's as famous for its burgers and Frosty as KFC is for its Original Recipe Fried Chicken.

Lee Cummings, the nephew of Colonel Harland Sanders, spent his childhood in the kitchen of his Henryville, Indiana home. Lee hit the road with his Uncle Harland in 1952, selling their own special blend of spices along with their famous pressure cookers, which later became part of KFC’s “Secret Recipe”. In three years, Lee and the Colonel opened over 800 KFC stores. In 1962, the Colonel sold KFC to John Y. Brown.

After the sale of KFC, Lee Cummings started developing his recipe later to be known as “Famous Recipe.” In 1966, Lee along with Harold Omer started “Harold’s Take-Home” in Lima, Ohio where Lee first introduced Famous Recipe Chicken. By 1967, Lee and Bob Burick in Springfield, Ohio opened the fifth franchise unit. Later that year, units followed in Dayton and Cincinnati, Ohio as well as Kalamazoo, Michigan and Famous Recipe was on its way!

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