Arby’s co-founder Leroy Raffel died aged 96 and has been remembered as a ‘truly visionary leader’ after helping start the now $3.9 billion fast food chain.
Raffel ‘passed away peacefully at home’ on Tuesday according to legacy.com and is survived by his four children, Ken, Janet, Jim, Nancy and his eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
He grew up in the restaurant business, living in the Leslie Hotel in New Castle, Pennsylvania and later helped build the popular sandwich restaurant which started with just 10 seats, 20 parking spaces and 69 cent roast beef sandwiches, to its modern success.
The visionary restaurant owner’s death was announced by Arby’s in a tribute post on Facebook with an image of Raffel and his brother, Forrest, who died aged 86 in 2008, holding a giant roast beef sandwich in front of an Arby’s sign.
Arby’s co-founder Leroy Raffel (left) has died aged 96 and has been remembered as a ‘truly visionary leader’ after helping start the now $3.9 billion American fast food sandwich chain. He’s seen posing with a huge roast beef sandwich and his brother Forrest, who died aged 86, in 2008
‘You may not know that the ‘RB’ in Arby’s stands for our co-founders (the Raffel Brothers) who launched the brand in 1964 behind an iconic Roast Beef sandwich,’ the post reads.
‘This week we mourn the loss of Leroy Raffel, aged 96, who was a truly visionary leader.
‘We remain honored to carry on the legacy that Leroy and his brother Forrest created. May his memory be a blessing.’
Jim Taylor, Arby’s president, also paid tribute to Raffel on the Inspire Brands website, which owns Arby’s and other brands, including Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin and Jimmy John’s.
The 96-year-old ‘passed away peacefully at home’ on Tuesday and is survived by his four children, eight grandchildren and one great grandchild. He’s pictured here in one of the last public sightings in 2018 aged 91
‘The team and I send our heartfelt condolences to Leroy’s friends, loved ones, and family, including his four children Janet, Jim, Nancy, and Ken,’ Taylor said in the statement.
The brothers opened their first eatery in Boardman, Ohio, in 1964 according to Taylor describing the restaurant as an ‘innovative approach to quick-service dining.’
‘The Raffel brothers (RB and the namesake of the brand) debuted their first Roast Beef sandwiches for just 69 cents which was a premium item served hot, fresh, and prepared to order – a higher quality offering versus the burger chains of the time,’ he said.
‘On behalf of Arby’s, we are making a donation in Leroy’s name to the Greater Miami Jewish Federation.
‘Leroy’s legacy will live on with his beloved brand, and we are ever grateful for his vision and commitment to Arby’s.’
Before becoming the founders of Arby’s, the brothers designed and equipped restaurants, hotels and institutional kitchens but ‘saw the handwriting on the wall’ for the future of the independent restaurateur, Raffel told The Business Journal for an August 1989 story.
They used the first letters of ‘Raffel Brothers’ as the basis for their restaurant’s name and opened their first Arby’s on U.S. Route 224 in Boardman, just west of where the township’s current store is located.
Jim Taylor, Arby’s president, also paid tribute to Raffel on the Inspire Brands website, which owns Arby’s and other brands, including Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin and Jimmy John’s. He thanked him for his legacy and said he was ‘grateful for his vision’
Raffel grew up in the restaurant business, living in the Leslie Hotel in New Castle, Pennsylvania and later helped build the popular sandwich restaurant which started with just 10 seats, 20 parking spaces and 69 cent roast beef sandwiches (pictured the first Arby’s in Boardman, Ohio) to its modern success
‘Even in 1964, that was still the best location for a fast-food restaurant in the Youngstown market,’ Raffel said in 1989.
In 1989, the brothers credited the Youngstown area with providing a basis for Arby’s success, particularly the local employees.
‘There was no question at the time that the best managers came from the Youngstown area – that we could take young people, train them in Youngstown, move them out to other areas and get very good results,’ Raffel said in the 1989 interview.
‘There is a very good work ethic in Youngstown that really helped us in our development.’
Raffel was born March 13, 1927 and served in the Naval Reserve during World War II graduating from the Wharton School of Finance from the University of Pennsylvania.
In the 1950s the brothers bought their uncle’s restaurant equipment business and created Raffel Brothers, Inc. which became one of the country’s leading food service consulting firms.
Watching the growth of Ray Kroc’s McDonald’s and how companies such as Burger King were finding lucrative avenues into the world of fast food, the pair wanted to take the quick service idea a step further than the traditional sale of hamburgers.
Raffel and his brother were the first to open a quick service roast beef sandwich shop using the initials of their company Raffel Brothers to create Arby’s.
Raffel and his brother were the first to open a quick service roast beef sandwich shop using the initials of their company Raffel Brothers ‘R’ and ‘B’ to create Arby’s. A customer in 1964 is seen enjoying the roast beef meal
Arby’s was positioning itself as an ‘upper scale’ quick service joint pricing their sandwiches higher than the typical McDonald hamburger which at the time was being served at 15 cents
Arby’s was positioning itself as an ‘upper scale’ quick service joint pricing their sandwiches higher than the typical McDonald hamburger which at the time was being served at 15 cents.
After its immediate success, the brothers began to rapidly expand the company and by the late 1960s had over 300 locations in nearly 40 states.
Using bank loans and equity capital to help finance the late 1960s growth but those sources were quickly dwindling as they struggled to sustain operational levels along with the prospect of growth plans.
The brothers sought to take their organization public with an IPO, which is when a private company first sells shares of stock to the public, in 1970.
Changes made within the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) at the time delayed the IPO and by the time it was rescheduled issues in the stock market forced the brothers to abandon the stock issuance.
By late 1970, the brothers had to seek a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, which allows for a debtor to propose a plan of reorganization to keep the business afloat, paying creditors over time.
During the reorganization process the Raffel Brothers began to regain control of the organization spending a couple of years of profitability, successfully coming out of bankruptcy by 1975.
Arby’s grew to 500 locations nationwide, but the company again needed a cash infusion which led to an agreement with Royal Crown Cola Co in 1976, in which they sold Arby’s for $18 million and by the end of 1979 the brother’s stepped down from operating the successful company that remains in their legacy.
While Arby’s has gone through a variety of new management structures, it now sits under the Inspire Brands family and employs 80,000 people nationwide.
By the end of 1979 both Raffel (pictured aged 92) and his brother stepped down from operating the successful company that remains in their legacy. In an interview about how he brought the company back from bankruptcy he said he’s a ‘tough son of a b****’
While Arby’s has gone through a variety of new management structures, it now sits under the Inspire Brands family and employs 80,000 people nationwide
When asked at a franchising seminar how he was able to turn Arby’s around and deal with the stress of Chapter 11, Raffel quipped: ‘because I’m one tough son of a b****.’
Raffel was very active in the Jewish community and the CEO of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation said: ‘Leroy had a quiet confidence, a midwestern sensibility, and a view of the world that was both ordinary and rational.’
‘He was also the source of unending encouragement and wise counsel that combined his keen intellect and business acumen with his commitment to Israel and the Jewish people.’
A funeral was held for Raffel at Lakeside Memorial Park in Florida.
