Arbys

Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc. is a leading international quick-service restaurant company operating in the United States. Arby’s is the second-largest quick-service fast-food sandwich restaurant chain in the U.S. in terms of units and third in terms of revenue, franchising nearly 3,400 restaurants. Arby’s was the first nationally franchised, coast-to-coast sandwich chain and has been serving fresh meals since it opened its doors in 1964. Roark Capital Group acquired Arby’s in July 2011 and owns 81.5% of the company, with The Wendy’s Company owning the other 18.5%. In addition to its classic Roast Beef and Beef ‘n Cheddar sandwiches, Arby’s products also include deli-style Market Fresh line of sandwiches, Curly Fries and Jamocha Shakes. Its headquarters are in Sandy Springs, Georgia. Arby’s® was founded in 1964, but the concept for a roast beef sandwich franchise was rooted many years earlier. Forrest Raffel, a graduate of Cornell University School of Hotel and Restaurant Admin-istration, and his younger brother Leroy, a graduate of Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania, bought an uncle’s restaurant equipment business in the 1950s. Raffel Brothers, Inc. became a fitting introduction to the foodservice industry for the brothers. The small company rapidly grew to become one of the country’s leading foodservice consulting firms. Raffel Brothers, Inc. designed and installed hundreds of foodservice facilities, including the flight kitchens at Greater Pittsburgh International Airport, interiors of six Ohio Turnpike restaurants and foodservice facilities for the Hospitality Inn motel chain of Standard Oil of Ohio. The Raffel brothers quickly sensed the potential of fast food and decided to develop a franchise operation based on something other than hamburgers. Leroy remembers, “We were totally confident, while everyone else thought we were out of our minds.” A late-night excursion to a small Boston sandwich shop on a rainy Halloween was the inspiration for the Raffels, who joined a damp but determined huddle of patrons to await the main attraction – a 79 cent roast beef sandwich. The idea was born. The only kink in the chain’s orderly development came with choosing a name. The partners wanted to use the name “Big Tex” but were unsuccessful in negotiating with the Akron businessman who was already using the name. So, in the words of Forrest, “We came up with Arby’s®, which stands for R.B., the initials of Raffel Brothers, although I guess customers might think the initials stand for roast beef”. The first Arby’s® restaurant opened in Boardman, Ohio on July 23, 1964, serving only roast beef sandwiches, potato chips and a beverage. This was the only Arby’s® restaurant for a year as the brothers refined the operation. One year later, the first Arby’s® licensee opened a restaurant in Akron, Ohio. Today, more than 500 licensees operate more than 3,300 restaurants worldwide.