Rax Roast Beef is a regional U.S. fast food
restaurant chain
A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate the retail and dining markets and many service categories, in many pa ...
specializing in
roast beef
Roast beef is a dish of beef that is roasted, generally served as the main dish of a meal. In the Anglosphere, roast beef is one of the meats often served at Sunday lunch or dinner. Yorkshire pudding is a standard side dish. Sliced 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
Ironton is a city in and the county seat of Lawrence County, Ohio, United States. Located in southernmost Ohio along the Ohio River northwest of Huntington, West Virginia, the city includes the Downtown Ironton Historic District.
The populati ...
, 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.
[ In 1969, Roschman sold the chain to ]General Foods
General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895.
The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, after several corporate ...
, 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
Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas (1932–2002) on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of December 31, 2018, Wendy's was t ...
, Ponderosa Steak House, and Long John Silver's
Long John Silver's (formerly known as Long John Silver's Seafood Shoppes and sometimes abbreviated as LJS) is an American chain of fast-food restaurants that specializes in seafood. The brand's name is derived from the novel ''Treasure Island ...
.
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. By then, Rax had grown to over 221 restaurants in 25 states.
In 1981, the chain introduced baked potatoes and salad bars to its menu. By June 1984, the 300th location had opened, in Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...
. 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.
Peak
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.
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
A salad bar is a buffet-style table or counter at a restaurant or food market on which salad components are provided for customers to assemble their own salad plates. Most salad bars provide lettuce, chopped tomatoes, assorted raw, sliced veget ...
, and a dessert bar. 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
Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas (1932–2002) on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of December 31, 2018, Wendy's was t ...
, took advantage of Rax's techniques and improved on them.[
Compounding the decline was a management buyout of the company in 1991 and numerous changes that occurred on the company board. The company attempted to convert under-performing outlets by forming joint ventures with Miami Subs and Red Burrito] as they scaled back many of its stand-alone locations to its core markets, particularly in Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, and West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...
.
By August 1992, the chain had faded into obscurity. 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. Three months after the Mr. Delicious campaign began, Rax Restaurants Inc. filed for bankruptcy.[
]
Post 1992 bankruptcy
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. Heartland planned to convert all Rax restaurants into Hardee's by 1997. 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.
By 1999, the chain had dropped to 150 franchises, with 450 locations.[
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.] However, in November 1996, Wendy's International made an offer to purchase 37 Rax restaurants, intending to convert most of them to Tim Hortons
Tim Hortons Inc., commonly nicknamed Tim's, or Timmie's is a Canadian multinational coffeehouse and restaurant chain. Based in Toronto, Tim Hortons serves coffee, doughnuts, and other fast-food items. It is Canada's largest quick-service res ...
. This caused a change in strategy, and a buyer was sought for the remaining company-owned restaurants.
In July 1997, the Rax brand was purchased by Cassady & Associates.
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. As other fast food chains added kids' meal
The kids' meal or children's meal is a fast food combination meal tailored to and marketed to children. Most kids' meals come in colorful bags or cardboard boxes with depictions of activities/games on the bag or box and a toy inside. Most sta ...
s, Rax created its mascot, Uncle Alligator, who featured in all the kids' meals and toys, always involving some sport or activity (e.g. skateboarding). In 2006, 26 locations remained in Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
, Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
, Ohio, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, Virginia, and West Virginia. In December 2007, Rich Donohue, a five-year franchise owner with a restaurant in Ironton, Ohio
Ironton is a city in and the county seat of Lawrence County, Ohio, United States. Located in southernmost Ohio along the Ohio River northwest of Huntington, West Virginia, the city includes the Downtown Ironton Historic District.
The populati ...
, purchased the Rax trademark. 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. By February 2015, 15 locations were left in Illinois, Kentucky, and Ohio, and West Virginia. The last Rax in West Virginia closed in 2016 and the number of locations declined to eight by March 2016. 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.
, a map at the Rax website shows eight locations, six in southern Ohio, and one each in Kentucky and Illinois. However, the locations in Georgetown, Ohio
Georgetown is a village in Brown County, Ohio, United States located about 36 miles southeast of Cincinnati. The population was 4,331 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Brown County. Georgetown was the childhood home of Ulysses S. Gra ...
, and West Union, Ohio
West Union is a village in Adams County, Ohio, United States, about southeast of Cincinnati. The population was 3,241 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Adams County. West Union is served by West Union High School, the Adams Count ...
, listed on the Rax website are no longer open with, respectively, a Little Caesars
Little Caesar Enterprises Inc. (doing business as Little Caesars) is an American multi-national pizza chain. Based on 2020 statistics, Little Caesars is the third-largest pizza chain by total sales in the United States, behind Pizza Hut and ...
and a Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen (DQ) is an American chain of soft serve ice cream and fast food restaurants owned by International Dairy Queen, Inc. (a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway since 1998) which also owns Orange Julius, and formerly owned Karmelkorn and ...
operating in their old locations. 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
Harlan is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Harlan County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,745 at the 2010 census, down from 2,081 at the 2000 census.
Harlan is one of three Kentucky county seats to share its name w ...
; Joliet, Illinois
Joliet ( ) is a city in Will and Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. At the 2020 census, the city was the third-largest in Illinois, with a population of 150,362.
Hist ...
; Circleville, Ohio
Circleville is a city in and the county seat of Pickaway County, Ohio, United States, set along the Scioto River, 25 miles (40 km) south of Columbus. The population was 13,927 at the 2020 census. The city is best-known today as the host ...
; Ironton, Ohio
Ironton is a city in and the county seat of Lawrence County, Ohio, United States. Located in southernmost Ohio along the Ohio River northwest of Huntington, West Virginia, the city includes the Downtown Ironton Historic District.
The populati ...
; Lancaster, Ohio
Lancaster ( ) is a city in Fairfield County, Ohio, in the south-central part of the state. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 40,552. The city is near the Hocking River, about southeast of Columbus and southwest of Zanesville. It is ...
; and New Carlisle, Ohio
New Carlisle is a city in Clark County, Ohio, Clark County, Ohio, United States. The population was 5,785 at the United States Census 2010, 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Ohio Springfield, Ohio metropolitan area, Metropolitan Statistic ...
.
Slogans
*"All the Right Stuff"
*"Fast Food with Style."
*"Gotta get back to Rax."[
*"I'd Rather Rax, Wouldn't You?"
*"You can eat here."]
References
External links
*
{{General Foods
Beef
Companies based in Ohio
Restaurants in Ohio
Economy of the Midwestern United States
Regional restaurant chains in the United States
Fast-food chains of the United States
Restaurants established in 1967
Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1992
1967 establishments in Ohio
General Foods
Roast beef restaurants in the United States