Rax Roast Beef facts for kids
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Rax in Circleville, Ohio, formerly a Wendy's, 2018
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Trade name
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Rax Roast Beef |
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Formerly
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JAX Roast Beef (1967–69; 1972–77) RIX Roast Beef (1969–72) |
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| Industry | Fast food |
| Founded | 1967 in Springfield, Ohio |
| Founder | Jack Roschman |
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Number of locations
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6 (2024) |
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Key people
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Jason Donahue (CEO) |
| Products | Roast beef sandwiches, salad bar, shakes, baked potatoes, fries, soft drinks, wraps, sandwiches, chicken |
| Owner | Rich Donohue |
Rax Roast Beef is a fast food restaurant chain in the United States. It is known for its roast beef sandwiches. The company has gone through many changes over the years. It grew to have over 500 locations in the 1980s. However, by the 2020s, it had fewer than 10 restaurants. As of 2024, Rax is based in Ironton, Ohio. It has six restaurants in Illinois, Ohio, and Kentucky.
Contents
History of Rax Roast Beef
How Rax Started
Rax first opened in 1967 in Springfield, Ohio. It was called "JAX Roast Beef" and was started by Jack Roschman. In 1969, Roschman sold the chain to a company called General Foods. They changed the name to "RIX Roast Beef."
General Foods ran the restaurants until 1972. Most of the RIX restaurants then closed. The remaining 10 restaurants were owned by a group called Restaurant Administration Corporation (RAC). RAC bought the rest of RIX from General Foods. They changed the name back to JAX.
RAC decided to focus on roast beef. They started letting other people open JAX restaurants as franchises. In 1977, the JAX restaurants were renamed Rax. This new name was easier to trademark and franchise. The first Rax-branded franchise opened in Columbus, Ohio. RAC changed its name to Rax Systems Inc., and then to Rax Restaurants Inc. by 1982. By this time, Rax had grown to more than 221 restaurants in 25 states.
In 1981, Rax added new items to its menu. These included baked potatoes and salad bars. By June 1984, the 300th Rax location opened in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In 1988, the company decided to make its salad and food bars smaller. This was to save money and focus more on sandwiches.
Rax's Most Successful Time
In the 1980s, Rax was very popular. It had grown to 504 locations across 38 states in the U.S. There were also some Rax restaurants in Guatemala. This was the chain's most successful period.
Challenges and Changes in the 1990s
In the late 1980s, Rax started changing its business a lot. They tried to sell more than just roast beef sandwiches. At different times, Rax offered baked potatoes, pizza, pasta, Asian food, and a taco bar. They also had an "endless" salad bar and a dessert bar.
Rax also tried to make its restaurants look fancier. They used wood and glass sunrooms. They wanted to be the "champagne of fast food." However, these changes made their regular customers, who were mostly working-class, stop coming. Other fast food chains, like Wendy's, used Rax's ideas and made them better. This caused Rax's profits to drop.
In 1991, the company's managers bought Rax. Many changes happened on the company's board. Rax tried to fix its struggling restaurants by working with other companies like Miami Subs. They also closed many of their stand-alone restaurants. They focused on their main markets in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
By August 1992, Rax was not as well-known. That same month, Rax started a new advertising campaign. It featured an animated character named "Mr. Delicious." He was a middle-aged man who talked a lot about his personal life. He also said how much he liked Rax restaurants. This campaign was supposed to attract adult customers. But customers did not like it. Three months after Mr. Delicious appeared, Rax Restaurants Inc. filed for bankruptcy.
After the 1992 Bankruptcy
In 1994, Rax Restaurants Inc. joined with another company called Franchise Enterprises Inc. The new company was named Heartland Food Systems Inc. It became a franchisee for Hardee's. Heartland planned to change all Rax restaurants into Hardee's by 1997. But it was too hard to change the Rax restaurants into Hardee's. So, in 1996, Heartland had to file for bankruptcy again.
As part of a plan to recover, the company sold the Hardee's restaurants it owned that were not originally Rax stores. They also changed the company's name back to Rax Restaurants Inc. By 1996, the chain had only 150 franchises left, down from 450 locations.
The company planned to bring Rax back. They wanted a new, simpler menu, a new store design, and a new logo. However, in November 1996, Wendy's International offered to buy 37 Rax restaurants. Wendy's wanted to change most of them into Tim Hortons. This made Rax change its plans. They looked for a buyer for their remaining company-owned restaurants.
In July 1997, a company called Cassady & Associates bought the Rax brand. By December 2005, another company, Carpediem Management Co., owned the brand. Rax had 51 locations then. Rax also created a mascot for kids' meals called Uncle Alligator. He was featured in toys and always doing a sport or activity.
In 2006, only 26 Rax locations remained. They were in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. In December 2007, Rich Donohue bought the Rax trademark. He owned a Rax restaurant in Ironton, Ohio. His new company, From Rax to Rich's Inc., bought the name to save on licensing costs. They planned to open more restaurants in Ohio and Kentucky.
The last Rax in Indiana closed in 2011. By February 2015, there were 15 locations left in Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia. The last Rax in West Virginia closed in 2016. The number of locations dropped to eight by March 2016. Most of the remaining Rax locations are owned by franchisees. They can use the Rax name as long as their store is open.
A new Rax location opened in New Carlisle, Ohio in 2022. As of December 2024, the company has six locations. One is in Illinois, one in Kentucky, and four are in Ohio.
Rax 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."
