Arby’s co-founder Leroy Raffel has died at the age of 96, the company announced on its Facebook page Thursday, calling him “a truly visionary leader.”
On Facebook, the verified Arby’s account revealed that the “RB” in Arby’s cheekily stands for the co-founders, the Raffel brothers’, initials.
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“We remain honored to carry on the legacy that Leroy and his brother Forrest created,” Arby’s said in the post about the co-founder, who was noted as “a truly visionary leader. May his memory be a blessing.”
Leroy Raffel and his brother Forrest’s first restaurant, which opened in 1964, had just 10 seats and 20 parking spots, Fortune reported. The chain stood out from the many hamburger chains by focusing instead.
“On the day we opened, the McDonald’s hamburger was 15 cents and our sandwich was 69 cents. So you had to be a little more affluent to buy our sandwich,” Leroy Raffel told Ohio TV station WFMJ in 2014.
The brothers reportedly sold the chain to Royal Crown Cola within 12 years. By the time they sold it, there were 400 Arby’s locations.
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Arby’s was on fire by 2016, following the chain’s share of ups and downs with Wendy’s even owning the brand at one point.
Inspire Brands oversees Arby’s today, along with Sonic, Jimmy John’s, Dunkin and others.
The restaurant which had humble beginnings in Ohio, outperformed the fast food industry for 13 straight quarters by 2016. Forrest died in 2008 at the age of 86.
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