A sign outside one Tarheel Capital Wendy's. (MyFoxAL)
The suits at Wendy's International told a leading franchise owner to focus on burgers and fries, and leave politics to the competition.
Jim Furman, CEO of Tarheel Capital, which runs 74 Wendy's restaurants, had the message "WE STAND WITH CHICK-FIL-A" posted on the signs outside some of the company's restaurants in North Carolina and South Carolina, until he got a call from company headquarters in Dublin, Ohio, telling him the signs had to come down.
Furman told reporters the message was taken down because the company "felt it was time to go back to their marketing message," according to MyFoxAL.
Furman has briefly set aside his beef with the sandwich rival after Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy drew fire from same-sex marriage advocates for stating to the Baptist Press that he backs the "biblical" definition of marriage. That, in turn, prompted Chick-fil-A's biggest day of business ever, as people lined up for hours outside the chicken chain's stores to get a sandwich and show their support for either Cathy's opinion or his right to state it.
But the company quickly stepped in to make it clear they aren't interested in weighing in on the debate.
"This is one independent franchisee's personal opinion," a statement from Wendy's International read. "We are proud to serve customers of varied races, backgrounds, cultures and sexual orientation, with different beliefs and values. Bearing that in mind, this franchisee has decided to remove the messages from his restaurant signs."
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