The cost of living has certainly risen in recent years; a Wimpy breakfast, for example, now costs between R25 and R50. This is a far cry from the ‘Good Old Days‘, when the iconic South African brand was first established in 1967. It‘s a remarkable achievement for company that was founded all the way back in 1934 in the USA.
The brand was introduced to the United Kingdom in 1954 as “Wimpy Bar”. Wimpy grew to approximately 1,500 locations in dozens of countries before declining to a few hundred locations in two or three countries. Its worldwide headquarters later relocated from the United States to the United Kingdom before relocating a second time to South Africa.
There are 500 outlets in the country. My dad told me that he used to pay 50c back in the day for a movie ticket. Nowadays it’s between R35 and R45 per ticket. Things have become really expensive in this country. Will things become cheaper in the future? I think not. Nonetheless, it’s nice to get nostalgic in this day and age. Hope you find these 2 photos interesting and insightful.
This is a Wimpy menu from 1972:
This is a Wimpy menu from 1983:
Watch this space for updates in the Facts category on Running Wolf’s Rant.
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9 Comments
Hi there RW!
Sure brought back memories to this oldtimer (61) with the '72 menu. Aaaahh — those prices!
What are the chances of getting a hi-res scan of both sides of that menu? I own a '72 Mustang Coupe — the Wimpy menu would go great with the car!
Leo: Thanks for the comment. Unfortunately I do not have high res scans of that menu. You might be able to obtain it from Wimpy themselves. The same photos were used on the Watkykjy website (linked on the bottom of this post).
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Hi, I’m looking for price comparisons for items like bread, milk and petrol from the ’70s to now. Do you know how I can find old Checkers / Pick ‘n Pay leaflets or catalogues from the old days?
Sadly not, I found this online and reposted it on my site
Wimpy was actually established in the United Kingdom in 1954. The first Wimpy to be opened overseas was in 1967 in South Africa.
My bad! Founded
Bloomington, Indiana (US) (1934)
Coventry Street, London (UK) (1954)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wimpy_(restaurant)
Gee I though Wimpy was a SA company. Now I learnt something!
Of course it is 😀