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From Rax to Rich's
Rax Roast Beef
Company typePrivate
IndustryFast food
Founded1967; 57 years ago (1967) in Springfield, Ohio[1]
FounderJack Roschman[1]
Headquarters
Ironton, Ohio, U.S.[2]
Number of locations
6
Area served
Illinois, Kentucky, and Ohio
Key people
Jason Donahue (CEO)
ProductsRoast beef sandwiches, salad bar, shakes, baked potatoes, fries, soft drinks, wraps, sandwiches, chicken
OwnerRich Donohue
Websiteraxroastbeef.com

Rax Roast Beef is a regional U.S. fast food restaurant chain specializing in roast beef sandwiches. The company has been through many iterations, declaring bankruptcy more than once, rising to as many as 504 locations in 38 U.S. states in the 1980s and falling to fewer than 20 locations on more than one occasion. As of 2022, Rax is based in Ironton, Ohio, and has between five and eight (see below) franchisee-owned restaurants still in operation.

History

Origins

Rax was originally known as "JAX Roast Beef", founded by Jack Roschman in 1967, in Springfield, Ohio.[1] In 1969, Roschman sold the chain to General Foods, which then changed the name of the restaurants to "RIX Roast Beef". General Foods ran the chain until 1978, when most of the restaurants closed down. The remaining 10 units were franchised units owned by the Restaurant Administration Corporation (RAC), headed by J. Patrick Ross, a franchisee of multiple restaurant chains including Wendy's, Ponderosa Steak House, and Long John Silver's.

RAC purchased the remainder of RIX from General Foods, and returned the JAX name to the restaurants. RAC eventually decided to focus on the roast beef business, and began franchising the chain. The JAX restaurants were renamed Rax to be more suitable for trademarking and franchising, with the first Rax-branded franchise restaurant opening in Columbus, Ohio. RAC was renamed Rax Systems Inc., then again to Rax Restaurants Inc. in 1982.[3] By then, Rax had grown to over 221 restaurants in 25 states.[4]

In 1981, the chain introduced baked potatoes and salad bars to its menu.[5] By June 1984, the 300th location had opened, in Fort Wayne, Indiana.[5] In 1988, the company decided to reduce the size of its money-losing salad and food bars to help reduce expenses and refocus on sandwiches.[6]

Peak

An older Rax, as shown in 2007, still in operation in Lancaster, Ohio: This location was later featured on an episode of Pittsburgh Dad.[7]

At its peak in the 1980s, the Rax chain had grown to 504 locations in 38 states along with an unknown number of restaurants in Guatemala.[8]

During this time, Rax began diversifying its core roast beef sales by adding baked potatoes, pizza, and a dinner bar with pasta, Chinese-style food, taco bar, an "endless" salad bar, and a dessert bar.[9] Rax began to transform its restaurants from basic restaurant architecture into designs containing wood elements and solaria, with the intention of becoming the "champagne of fast food". This transformation drove away its core working-class customers, blurred its core business, and caused profits to plunge for Rax as other chains, such as Wendy's, took advantage of Rax's techniques and improved on them.[4]

Compounding the decline was a management buyout of the company in 1991 and numerous changes that occurred on the company board.[10] The company attempted to convert under-performing outlets by forming joint ventures with Miami Subs and Red Burrito[11][12] as they scaled back many of its stand-alone locations to its core markets, particularly in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.[13]

By August 1992, the chain had faded into obscurity.[14] That month, a new advertising campaign was formulated with Deutsch Inc. to create a new animated character named Mr. Delicious, a sportcoat-wearing, briefcase-toting divorcee, to attract adult customers.[15][16] Three months after the Mr. Delicious campaign began, Rax Restaurants Inc. filed for bankruptcy.[14]

Post 1992 bankruptcy

A former Rax restaurant in Vermilion, Ohio

In 1994, Rax Restaurants Inc. merged with North Carolina-based Franchise Enterprises Inc, renaming the company Heartland Food Systems Inc., and becoming a Hardee's franchisee.[17] Heartland planned to convert all Rax restaurants into Hardee's by 1997.[18] However, by 1996, the difficulty of converting Rax restaurants to Hardee's placed too much pressure on Heartland, and they were forced to once again file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. As part of a turnaround plan, the company sold the Hardee's units it owned that were not originally Rax stores and changed the company's name back to Rax Restaurants Inc.[19]

By 1999, the chain had dropped to 150 franchises, with 450 locations.[8]

The company was planning a revival for the Rax concept, including a new, simpler menu, a new store prototype, and a new logo and color scheme.[19] However, in November 1996, Wendy's International made an offer to purchase 37 Rax restaurants, intending to convert most of them to Tim Hortons.[20] This caused a change in strategy, and a buyer was sought for the remaining company-owned restaurants.[21] In July 1997, the Rax brand was purchased by Cassady & Associates.[22]

By December 2005, the brand was owned by Carpediem Management Co., with 51 locations, of which 11 were company-owned and 40 were franchisee-owned.[23] As other fast food chains added kids' meals, Rax created its mascot, Uncle Alligator, who featured in all the kids' meals and toys, always involving some sport or activity (e.g. skateboarding).[24] In 2006, 26 locations remained in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.[25] In December 2007, Rich Donohue, a five-year franchise owner with a restaurant in Ironton, Ohio,[26] purchased the Rax trademark.[27] The new company, From Rax to Rich's Inc., purchased the name to bypass licensing costs, and had plans to open more restaurants in Ohio and Kentucky.

The last Rax in Indiana closed in 2011.[28] By February 2015, 15 locations were left in Illinois, Kentucky, and Ohio, and West Virginia.[29] The last Rax in West Virginia closed in 2016[30] and the number of locations declined to eight by March 2016.[31] Most of the remaining Rax locations are franchisee-owned, with the right to use the Rax name as long as the store is in operation.

As of August 2022, a map at the Rax website shows eight locations, six in southern Ohio, and one each in Kentucky and Illinois.[32] However, the locations in Georgetown, Ohio, and West Union, Ohio, listed on the Rax website are no longer open with, respectively, a Little Caesars and a Dairy Queen operating in their old locations.[citation needed] On the website's coupon page, last updated with coupons that will expire 31 December 2022, the coupons themselves list just six locations: Harlan, Kentucky; Joliet, Illinois; Circleville, Ohio; Ironton, Ohio; Lancaster, Ohio; and New Carlisle, Ohio.[33]

Slogans

  • "All the Right Stuff"[34]
  • "Fast Food with Style."[35]
  • "Gotta get back to Rax."[3]
  • "I'd Rather Rax, Wouldn't You?"[36]
  • "You can eat here."[37]

References

  1. ^ a b c Levine, D.M. (14 January 1985). "Rax hunts for a president; Ross says move is 'logical' next step for growth". Nation's Restaurant News. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014 – via HighBeam Research.
  2. ^ "Contact". Rax Roast Beef. From Rax to Rich's Inc.
  3. ^ a b "The Evolution of Great Taste". Rax Restaurants. Carpediem Management Co. Archived from the original on 3 January 2006.
  4. ^ a b Jakle, John A. & Suclle, Keith A. (1999). Fast Food: Roadside Restaurants in the Automobile Age. JHU Press. p. 173. ISBN 9780801869204.
  5. ^ a b Probber, Jonathan (19 June 1984). "300th Rax opens here: A notch up on scale". Fort Wayne News Sentinel. Today was opening day for Fort Wayne-based Rax of Indiana's 22nd restaurant, at 5909 Covington Road. It's the third in this area, and the 300th for the franchisor, Rax Systems of Columbus, Ohio... The first salad bar in a fast service restaurant, according to fast food historians, and baked, topped potatoes, introduced in February 1981. Besides the salad bar (a large, horseshoe-shaped unit) and roast beef, Rax stores sell ham, turkey, fish, barbecued beef, and Philadelphia-style beef sandwiches. They also sell potato skins and soup.
  6. ^ Amatos, Christopher A. (23 November 1988). "Rax Will Trim Its Salad Bars, Shareholders Told at Meeting". Columbus Dispatch. p. 01F. The regional restaurant chain will put more emphasis back on sandwiches and trim its salad bar offerings after discovering that its Lunch Bar and Dinner Bar are failing to bring in new business, President Larry Ritter told shareholders at the company's annual meeting yesterday. Ritter said new surveys show Rax lost some market share during the summer. More importantly, six of eight major chains that offer expanded salad bars also lost share, indicating consumers no longer see extensive salad bars as unique or innovative, Ritter said... Rax was one of the first chains in the country to offer salad bars with hot pasta and Mexican items. Its salad bar accounted for as much as 40 percent of sales in some stores, Ritter said.
  7. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Dad Drives Across the Country Just for RAX". YouTube.
  8. ^ a b De Urrutia, Raguel (29 March 2000). "Franchising in Guatemala" (Document). U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service and U.S. Department of State. {{cite document}}: Unknown parameter |access-date= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |archive-date= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |archive-url= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |url= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |via= ignored (help)
  9. ^ "Editorial: Rax Bids Downtown Farewell After 28 Years". The Herald Bulletin. 27 April 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  10. ^ Bernstien, Charles (February 1992). "Rax Tries to Rally". Restaurants & Institutions. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014 – via HighBeam Research.
  11. ^ Carlino, Bill (25 May 1992). "Rax, Red Burrito Ink Deal to Expand Mexican Fast Feeder". Nation's Restaurant News. Archived from the original on 11 February 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2014 – via HighBeam Research.
  12. ^ Amatos, Christopher A. (14 May 1992). "Red Burrito Venture Lets Rax Widen Scope". Columbus Dispatch. p. 01D. Rax Restaurants Inc. became a partner yesterday with Carlos Garcia in his Red Burrito Mexican food company, with plans to convert some underperforming Rax locations to the new concept. Rax directors approved the agreement yesterday, said William Underhill, president and chief operating officer of the Dublin-based chain. Rax will provide marketing, purchasing and management support as well as locations. Garcia, who earlier this year opened the first Red Burrito in a converted Rax that he is leasing, will manage the company.
  13. ^ Kolody, Tracy (16 December 1991). "Miami Subs Planning For Growth Chain Converting Older Buildings, Signs Rax Deal". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  14. ^ a b Schwartz, Ralph (5 March 2021). "The Reason This Fast Food Chain Was A Huge Failure". Mashed. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  15. ^ Elliot, Stuart (24 August 1992). "THE MEDIA BUSINESS: ADVERTISING -- ADDENDA; New Campaigns". New York Times. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  16. ^ Mr. Delicious Promotional Video. 14 August 2011. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2012 – via YouTube.
  17. ^ Howard, Theresa (2 May 1994). "Alliance with Rax boosts Hardee's to 4,112 units - Rax Restaurants Inc., Hardee's Food Systems Inc". Nation's Restaurant News. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014 – via HighBeam Research.
  18. ^ Carlino, Bill (6 March 1995). "Heartland Food Systems to shed Rax Restaurants". Nation's Restaurant News. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014 – via HighBeam Research.
  19. ^ a b Kapner, Suzanne (12 February 1996). "Heartland Food returns to Rax roots - Heartland Food Systems Inc. repositions Rax Restaurants concept". Nation's Restaurant News. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014 – via HighBeam Research.
  20. ^ Rax to Sell 37 Restaurants to Wendy’s Associated Press
  21. ^ Gebolys, Debbie (6 November 1996). "Rax Name Appears Likely To Survive Transformation". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 1 September 2006.
  22. ^ Ball, Brian R. (22 August 1997). "Cassady seeks investors for Dalt's, Rax expansion". Columbus Business First. Retrieved 26 January 2007.
  23. ^ "Rax Restaurant Locations". rax-online.com. Carpediem Management Co. 30 December 2005. Archived from the original on 30 December 2005. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  24. ^ "Kids Pages". Rax Restaurants. Carpediem Management Co. Archived from the original on 30 December 2005.
  25. ^ "Restaurant Locations". Rax Restaurants. Carpediem Management Co. Archived from the original on 11 May 2006.
  26. ^ "Donohue buys Rax trademark". Ironton Tribune. 14 February 2008.
  27. ^ "Can Rax finally make a comeback?". Columbus Business First. 16 March 2009.
  28. ^ Doyle, Abbey (15 April 2011). "Downtown Rax closing". Anderson Herald Bulletin.
  29. ^ "Locations". Rax Roast Beef. From Rax to Rich's Inc. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015.
  30. ^ Bevins, Evan (16 February 2016). "Former Rax closes: Owner cites loss of revenue, rising costs". Parkersburg News and Sentinel.
  31. ^ "Locations". Rax Roast Beef. From Rax to Rich's Inc. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016.
  32. ^ "Rax locations". Rax Roast Beef. From Rax to Rich's Inc. 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  33. ^ "Rax Coupons" (PDF). raxroastbeef.com. 31 December 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  34. ^ Edwards, Joe (3 December 1984). "Rax Restaurants plans more new items despite diversity of its extensive menu". Nation's Restaurant News. Archived from the original on 9 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014. Rax Restaurants' ads use the phrase "All the Right Stuff"
  35. ^ Alva, Marilyn (1 February 1988). "Step aside King Kong: Rax has brought a new ape to town". Nation's Restaurant News. Archived from the original on 9 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014. the 540-unit Columbus, Ohio-based chain with the advertising slogan "Fast Food with Style."
  36. ^ "Rax Roast Beef | I'd Rather Rax, Wouldn't You?". raxroastbeef.com. From Rax to Rich's Inc. 14 October 2010. Archived from the original on 14 October 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  37. ^ "Full-size Favorites 99¢ Value Menu". Latrobe Bulletin. Latrobe, Pennsylvania. 26 August 1992. p. 33. Retrieved 11 August 2022 – via Newspapers.com. You can eat here. (tag line on each coupon)
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