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Today, we're sinking our teeth into the history of Arby's
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Forrest Fuzzy Raffle and his younger brother, Leroy, created Raffle Brothers, Inc., which quickly grew
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to become one of the leading restaurant consulting firms in the country. The Raffle Brothers came to know the ins and outs
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of the restaurant industry. The Raffle Brothers thought they could stand out from the crowd by offering what they believed
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to be a more upscale menu item, the roast beef sandwich. Thus, in July of 1964, the first ever Arby's
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opened its doors in the ever-wonderful Boardman, Ohio. Just one year later, a second location opened up in Akron
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The Raffle Brothers managed to grow their two-location business into a nation-spanning empire
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But as the swinging 60s disappeared in the country's collective rear view
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the pair realized they'd taken on one too many bank loans and were running out of money fast
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They were forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late 1970
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It took half a year for the Raffle Brothers to regain control of their company. They again rapidly expanded Arby's, this time reaching a monstrous 500 locations before once more finding themselves in need of cash
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The brothers sold their company to the R.C. Cola Company outright for $18 million
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Over the course of the 70s and 80s, Arby's introduced their fanned curly fries, their chicken sandwiches and Arby's sauce, and their ever-luxurious Jamocha shakes
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In the immediate aftermath of the Raffel brothers' departure, Arby's floundered for about half a decade
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Apparently RC Cola didn know how to manage the brand And they tried turning it into more of a conventional fast food joint for a while But everything changed in 1984 That year Victor Posner
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then head of the DWG Corporation, bought up RC Cola in a hostile takeover and appointed
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Ralston Purina's Leonard Roberts to the position of Arby's chief executive, a move that grew Arby's
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to a whopping 2,100 restaurants by the end of the 80s. The trouble was brewing behind the scenes
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Many accused Posner of taking the profits from Arby's and putting them towards his own personal holdings portfolio
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Eventually, Roberts got fed up with Posner and attempted to lead a franchise buyout of the company
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But Posner rejected the offer and fired Roberts for his involvement in the effort
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The Arby's brand went back into immediate decline. Posner became entangled in a series of lawsuits which led to a judge banning both him and his son from involvement with publicly traded companies in 1993
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leaving DWG Corporation's successor company, Triarch Companies, Inc., to buy out RC Cola and its subsidiaries in 1994
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By 2011, Arby's had been sold once again, this time to Rourke Capital Group
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Under the new ownership, a whole new side of Arby's emerged. Some of Arby's hip new decisions included updating their slogan from the stuffy-sounding Arby's, slicing up freshness, to the cheekier We have the meat
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Prior to the marketing change, only about 38% of Arby's customers were millennials
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After Arby's hit rebrand, that number grew to 54%. Today, Arby's rakes in nearly $4 billion a year
