Transactions with Related Parties (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Jan. 01, 2023

The following is a summary of transactions between the Company and its related parties:


	Year Ended
	2022		2021		2020
Transactions with QSCC:
Wendy’s Co-op (a)	$	427	$	279	$	—
Rental receipts (b)	198		217		217
TimWen lease and management fee payments (c)	$	19,694	$	18,687	$	16,130
Yellow Cab royalty, advertising fund, lease and other income (d)	$	13,404	$	9,869	$	1,090

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Transactions with QSCC

(a)Wendy’s has a purchasing co-op relationship structure (the “Wendy’s Co-op”) with its franchisees that establishes Quality Supply Chain Co-op, Inc. (“QSCC”). QSCC manages, for the Wendy’s system in the U.S. and Canada, contracts for the purchase and distribution of food, proprietary paper, operating supplies and equipment under national agreements with pricing based upon total system volume. QSCC’s supply chain management facilitates continuity of supply and provides consolidated purchasing efficiencies while monitoring and seeking to minimize possible obsolete inventory throughout the Wendy’s supply chain in the U.S. and Canada.

Wendy’s and its franchisees pay sourcing fees to third-party vendors on certain products sourced by QSCC. Such sourcing fees are remitted by these vendors to QSCC and are the primary means of funding QSCC’s operations. Should QSCC’s sourcing fees exceed its expected needs, QSCC’s board of directors may return some or all of the excess to its members in the form of a patronage dividend. Wendy’s recorded its share of patronage dividends of $427 and $279 in 2022 and 2021, respectively, which are included as a reduction of “Cost of sales.” There were no patronage dividends recorded during 2020.

(b)Pursuant to a lease agreement, Wendy’s leased 14,493 square feet of office space to QSCC for an annual base rent of $217. The lease was amended in June 2021 to increase both the leased square footage to 18,774 and the annual base rent to $250 beginning in 2023, subject to annual increases, and to extend the lease term through January 31, 2027. The Company received lease payments from QSCC of $198 during 2022 and $217 during each of 2021 and 2020, which has been recorded to “Franchise rental income.”

TimWen Lease and Management Fee Payments

(c)A wholly-owned subsidiary of Wendy’s leases restaurant facilities from TimWen, which are then subleased to franchisees for the operation of Wendy’s/Tim Hortons combo units in Canada. Wendy’s paid TimWen $19,927, $18,906 and $16,339 under these lease agreements during 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively, which has been recorded to “Franchise rental expense.” In addition, TimWen paid Wendy’s a management fee under the TimWen joint venture agreement of $233, $219 and $209 during 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively, which has been included as a reduction to “General and administrative.”

Transactions with Yellow Cab

(d)Certain family members and affiliates of Mr. Nelson Peltz, our Chairman, and Mr. Peter May, our Senior Vice Chairman, as well as Mr. Matthew Peltz, our Vice Chairman, hold indirect, minority ownership interests in Yellow Cab Holdings, LLC (“Yellow Cab”) and operating companies managed by Yellow Cab, a Wendy’s franchisee, that as of January 1, 2023 owned and operated 84 Wendy’s restaurants (including 54 restaurants acquired from NPC during the first quarter of 2021 as described below). During 2022, 2021 and the fourth quarter of 2020, the Company recognized $13,404, $9,869 and $1,090, respectively, in royalty, advertising fund, lease and other income from Yellow Cab and related entities. As of January 1, 2023 and January 2, 2022, $1,125 and $974, respectively, was due from Yellow Cab for such income, which is included in “Accounts and notes receivable, net” and “Advertising funds restricted assets.”

In November 2020, the Company submitted a consortium bid together with a group of pre-qualified franchisees (of which Yellow Cab was a member) to acquire the Wendy’s restaurants owned by NPC, formerly the Company’s largest franchisee, which filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2020. As part of the consortium bid, in November 2020, the Company received deposits from each of the pre-qualified franchisees (including Yellow Cab), which amounts were transferred to a third-party escrow account pending resolution of the bankruptcy sale process. On January 7, 2021, following a court-approved mediation process, Yellow Cab was selected as the purchaser for 54 of NPC’s Wendy’s restaurants. In March 2021, Yellow Cab closed on its acquisition of these restaurants and its deposit was applied against the purchase price for the restaurants. See Note 3 for further information.