According to a 2001 interview with Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy's, as a child, he lived near the intersection of Douglas and Kalamazoo Avenue in Kalamazoo. Thomas used to love eating at a Kewpee restaurant, which stood at Burdick and South. He said it was what inspired him to go into the business. Kewpee's sold square hamburgers and thick malt shakes, much like the famous restaurant that Thomas eventually founded.