I grew up in Canada with access to American TV. It was frustrating to see advertisements for restaurants, theme parks, and products in the US that weren't available to us north of the border.
Wendy's SuperBar passed me by completely, though our local McDonald's had pizza for a short while:
I didn't get to appreciate this as much as I wish I had -- I mainly just got the salad bar on its own, sometimes decking out a baked potato with ingredients from it. But I was a latecomer to Mexican food, as I thought it was mainly beans, peppers, and onions -- stuff I can't eat, and I wasn't really aware of options that DIDN'T include that. Likewise, I'm not a huge tomato sauce fan, and I think my parents tried to steer me away from cream sauces, leaving little else of value there besides the same plain pasta I could get at home.
Never saw seafood or pizza that I can remember, though!
I was sad when they took not only the Super Bar away, but the Salad Bar, too. You don't see that kind around much here in Canada. And the breadsticks they had for the salads were great, too! I'd buy those to snack on occasionally, and was sad they went with the rest.
Always heard the upkeep and time involved was why they eventually hung it up, I wish they'd instead spun that (and the pitas!) off into their own restaurant instead, then.
The Super Bar was wonderful. The price was just right for me when I was finishing high school and going to college, only working part time jobs. I had always loved a salad bar, we grew up with a local restaurant that had a fantastic one. The addition of the tex-mex tacos and burritos was a great addition.
I started college in Fall 1989, and there was a Wendy's with a Superbar right across the street from my dorm. For a starving college kid it was fantastic. I'd go in there and gorge myself, then pile up a plate of food and take it back to my little dorm fridge, where I could eat it later. A few times when I was extra broke, I'd wash the plate and sneak it back into Wendy's in my bag, order a drink, then fill the plate up again at the Superbar and repeat the process for free. Never got caught, thank heaven.
I worked at Wendy's in high school and college right at the peak of the Superbar era. The garlic bread at the Italian station was hamburger buns that had been brushed with garlic butter and grilled. Almost all of the hot food was powdered mixes or (in the case of the pasta) par-cooked, so you would just have to add hot water to quickly prepare it. So it was pretty cheap, but it was fairly mediocre quality. I remember them being a lot of work to keep stocked and clean, which may have been one of the reasons they didn't last.
The powdered mix makes sense for the quality. It seemed like two people were constantly working to refill things at the Wendy's I went to as I got older. Lot of effort.
I grew up in Canada with access to American TV. It was frustrating to see advertisements for restaurants, theme parks, and products in the US that weren't available to us north of the border.
Wendy's SuperBar passed me by completely, though our local McDonald's had pizza for a short while:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9SVBLzx70Y&ab_channel=ManitobaVideo
Did you try the McPizza?
Absolutely!
All I remember was that the pizza sauce had a bit of tang to it, and I think the crust was dusted with Parmesan cheese. I thought it was good.
Granted, I was like 10 years old, so what did I know about good pizza?
I need $2.99 and to actually build that time machine.
I will bring the cash, if you can bring the time machine.
I didn't get to appreciate this as much as I wish I had -- I mainly just got the salad bar on its own, sometimes decking out a baked potato with ingredients from it. But I was a latecomer to Mexican food, as I thought it was mainly beans, peppers, and onions -- stuff I can't eat, and I wasn't really aware of options that DIDN'T include that. Likewise, I'm not a huge tomato sauce fan, and I think my parents tried to steer me away from cream sauces, leaving little else of value there besides the same plain pasta I could get at home.
Never saw seafood or pizza that I can remember, though!
I was sad when they took not only the Super Bar away, but the Salad Bar, too. You don't see that kind around much here in Canada. And the breadsticks they had for the salads were great, too! I'd buy those to snack on occasionally, and was sad they went with the rest.
Always heard the upkeep and time involved was why they eventually hung it up, I wish they'd instead spun that (and the pitas!) off into their own restaurant instead, then.
A spinoff restaurant would have been interesting. Maybe just call it SuperBar?
I was thinking maybe something like "Dave's SuperBar".
Perfect.
The Super Bar was wonderful. The price was just right for me when I was finishing high school and going to college, only working part time jobs. I had always loved a salad bar, we grew up with a local restaurant that had a fantastic one. The addition of the tex-mex tacos and burritos was a great addition.
Wow- this passed us Canadians by. We just had the normal Wendy's, and still do.
Late 80s + weed + Superbar = me and my NJ stoner friends being asked to leave on more than one occasion. Good memories
I think that was a large part of the SuperBar target audience.
I started college in Fall 1989, and there was a Wendy's with a Superbar right across the street from my dorm. For a starving college kid it was fantastic. I'd go in there and gorge myself, then pile up a plate of food and take it back to my little dorm fridge, where I could eat it later. A few times when I was extra broke, I'd wash the plate and sneak it back into Wendy's in my bag, order a drink, then fill the plate up again at the Superbar and repeat the process for free. Never got caught, thank heaven.
It really was a bargain. The food might not have been top-quality, but it was great for the lean times.
I worked at Wendy's in high school and college right at the peak of the Superbar era. The garlic bread at the Italian station was hamburger buns that had been brushed with garlic butter and grilled. Almost all of the hot food was powdered mixes or (in the case of the pasta) par-cooked, so you would just have to add hot water to quickly prepare it. So it was pretty cheap, but it was fairly mediocre quality. I remember them being a lot of work to keep stocked and clean, which may have been one of the reasons they didn't last.
The powdered mix makes sense for the quality. It seemed like two people were constantly working to refill things at the Wendy's I went to as I got older. Lot of effort.