Chain: Wendy's
Launched: 1988
The salad bar was a fixture in Wendy鈥檚 restaurants for decades; they were finally phased out in 2006. But for a brief period in the late 鈥�80s and 鈥�90s, the salad bar was expanded to a full-blown buffet.
In addition to a salad and fruit station (called the 鈥淕arden Spot鈥�), the Wendy鈥檚 Superbar had Mexican and Italian food 鈥渟tations鈥� called 鈥淢exican Fiesta鈥� and 鈥淧asta Pasta,鈥� respectively. And it was cheap: All you could eat for $2.99, in most areas.
鈥淵ou can have just about anything, even if you鈥檙e in the mood for everything!鈥� one television spot boasted.
The downfall of the Wendy鈥檚 Superbar wasn鈥檛 customer interest. In fact, Googling 鈥淲endy鈥檚 Superbar鈥� will turn up dozens of rave reviews, fond memories (including one Wendy鈥檚 Superbar thread on a mixed martial arts forum), and at least three separate Facebook groups lobbying for its return. But keeping a buffet stocked and clean is hard work, especially coupled with the task of serving Wendy鈥檚 traditional over-the-counter menu. It was discontinued in 1998.
