Roy Rogers Restaurants facts for kids
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Roy Rogers Restaurant in Westminster, Maryland, in a former Gino's building, owned by the Plamondon Companies, remodeled in 2018
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Trade name
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Roy Rogers Restaurants |
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Formerly
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RoBee's Roast Beef (1967-1968) |
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Founded | February 12, 1968, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States |
| Founder | Azar's Big Boy restaurants |
| Headquarters | Frederick, Maryland |
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Number of locations
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40 |
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Area served
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Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia |
| Products | |
| Services | Franchising |
 US$14.8 million (3rd Qtr. 2022) |
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| Parent |
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Roy Rogers Restaurants is a chain of fast food restaurants in the United States. Its main office is in Frederick, Maryland. Most of its restaurants are found in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States.
The chain started when the RoBee's House of Beef restaurants were bought by the Marriott Corporation in 1968. Marriott then changed the name to Roy Rogers Roast Beef. At its busiest, there were over 600 Roy Rogers locations. Today, there are 40 restaurants in five states. Some are owned by the company, and others are franchised.
In 1990, the Roy Rogers chain was sold to Imasco, which also owned Hardee's. Many Roy Rogers restaurants were changed into Hardee's. In 2002, Plamondon Companies bought the Roy Rogers name.
Roy Rogers' menu mainly includes hamburgers, roast beef sandwiches, and fried chicken. They also offer many side dishes like french fries and drinks. Many locations also serve breakfast.
Contents
History of Roy Rogers Restaurants
How Roy Rogers Started (1967–1968)
In 1967, a restaurant group called Azar's Big Boy started a chain called RoBee's House of Beef in Indiana. The Marriott Corporation, which owned the Big Boy trademark, bought RoBee's in February 1968. Marriott wanted to make the chain much bigger across the country.
Around the time of the purchase, another roast beef chain, Arby's, sued RoBee's. They said the name "RoBee's" sounded too much like "Arby's." Because of this, Marriott needed a new name for the restaurants.
Bob Wian, who started Big Boy and was on Marriott's board, knew Roy Rogers, a famous cowboy and singer. He suggested that Marriott ask Rogers if they could use his name. Roy Rogers agreed to let them use his name for a fee and would also appear at the restaurants. The restaurants were then called "Roy Rogers Roast Beef Sandwich" restaurants.
Many Big Boy restaurant owners became regional owners for Roy Rogers. This helped the chain spread across the Northeastern, Midwest, and Southern parts of the U.S. By 1969, Marriott had plans for Roy Rogers restaurants in almost every state. Roy Rogers also opened in Canada.
Opening a Roy Rogers restaurant in 1968 cost about $35,000 upfront. The building and equipment cost around $100,000.
The very first Roy Rogers restaurant opened in April 1968 in Falls Church, Virginia. Another opened in Bethesda, Maryland. These first spots were actually old Jr. Hot Shoppes, which was Marriott's existing fast food chain. In May 1968, the RoBee's locations also started changing to Roy Rogers. Roy Rogers himself visited many restaurants, shaking hands and giving out signed photos. Commercials for the restaurants were filmed where Rogers lived with his family in California.
Growing and Facing Challenges (1968–1989)
Roy Rogers grew very quickly at first. In October 1968, there were 38 restaurants open, and by December, 56 were open. Marriott hoped to have over 700 Roy Rogers restaurants in four years. By June 1969, 105 locations were open.
However, growth slowed down in 1970 because Marriott had to close some restaurants that were not doing well. By September 1972, only 172 restaurants were open, which was much less than they had hoped for.
In 1977, while Roy Rogers was performing at a restaurant in Fairfax, Virginia, a teenager threw a cottage cheese pie at him. The teenager later admitted what he did and was fined.
In 1982, Marriott bought the Gino's restaurant chain. They changed 180 of these restaurants into Roy Rogers locations. This helped Roy Rogers grow more in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. areas.
Changes with Hardee's (1990–1997)
In 1990, Marriott sold the Roy Rogers chain to Imasco for $365 million. Imasco also owned Hardee's. Many Roy Rogers restaurants that were owned by the company were changed into Hardee's. However, many customers were upset by this change. Some of the Hardee's locations started offering Roy Rogers' famous fried chicken again.
Between 1994 and 1996, Hardee's sold the remaining Roy Rogers locations to other companies like McDonald's and Wendy's. This left only 13 Roy Rogers owners with about two dozen standalone restaurants. There were also some locations in travel stops along highways.
Before Hardee's bought Roy Rogers, the restaurants cooked their fries in a mix of beef fat and vegetable oil. Hardee's changed this to only vegetable oil for all locations.
New Ownership and Plans (1997–Present)
In 1997, CKE Restaurants bought Hardee's from Imasco. But Imasco kept the Roy Rogers name and franchise system.
After three years of talks, Imasco sold Roy Rogers to Plamondon Enterprises (now Plamondon Companies) in 2002. Roy Rogers was then relaunched as Roy Rogers Franchise Company, LLC. Plamondon had already opened a new Roy Rogers restaurant in Frederick, Maryland, in 2000. When the sale happened, there were 63 Roy Rogers restaurants in nine states.
In 2021, Roy Rogers announced plans to grow more. They wanted to open new restaurants starting from their main areas in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Then, they planned to expand to New York, other East Coast states, and even states like Ohio, Tennessee, and Florida.
In 2022, the company announced a partnership to open 10 new Roy Rogers locations in the Cincinnati metropolitan area over six years. These new locations would be in parts of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. However, a spokesperson for the partner company said that no more locations would open after one in Cleves, Ohio, closed in September 2024 because it did not meet expectations.
In 2025, Roy Rogers announced plans to open a third location in Leesburg, Virginia. A new location in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, opened on June 25, 2025. This marked the chain's return to the South Jersey area since the 1990s.
What Roy Rogers Offers
Most Roy Rogers restaurants serve food like typical fast-food places. However, some locations, especially those in highway rest-stops, serve food in a cafeteria style.
In cafeteria-style restaurants, customers push their trays along a rail. They can pick up pre-wrapped hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and roast beef sandwiches. A special part of Roy Rogers is the "Fixin's Bar." This bar has many different toppings and sauces. Because of this, sandwiches are served plain. Customers can add their own ketchup, BBQ sauce, mayonnaise, horseradish sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and onions. Many locations also offer hand-dipped milkshakes made with Edy's Ice Cream.
Popular items on the menu include roast beef sandwiches and fried chicken. The fried chicken was advertised by Roy Rogers using a cartoon prospector character called "Pappy Parker." Other special items are the Gold Rush chicken sandwich, which has fried chicken, bacon, cheese, and BBQ sauce. The Double-R Bar Burger is a cheeseburger with ham. Side dishes include french fries, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes with gravy, and baked beans. Sometimes, they also offer seasonal items like a beer-battered cod sandwich.
Where to Find Roy Rogers Restaurants
As of July 2025, there are 40 Roy Rogers restaurants in these states:
- Maryland: 22
- New Jersey: 3
- Pennsylvania: 7
- Virginia: 7
- West Virginia: 1
See also
- List of hamburger restaurants
- List of fast-food chicken restaurants
