Before Wendy’s, He Was Involved with KFC
Thomas started working as a chef for Phil Clauss at Hobby House restaurant. He was the one who helped Clauss sell Colonel Sanders his secret recipe chicken, way before the first KFC ever opened. Only later did the Clauss family own four KFC franchises in Columbus, Ohio, but they were failing. Clauss sent Thomas to Ohio so that he could try and turn it around.
Source: Wendy’s
Thomas made substantial changes that helped save the restaurants. He cut down the menu and created the rotating, appealing bucket of chicken that he put outside the restaurant. Sanders was impressed with the successful changes, and they were incorporated into all the KFC restaurants. Thomas was also the one who told Sanders to star in his own commercials. By then, Thomas had shares in KFC and sold them back to Sanders for over $1.5 million.