Hello World

For those of us who grew up in the DC area, Roy Rogers was an institution. Not the cowboy movie star, but the fast food chain. Boasting burgers, fried chicken, roast beef sandwiches, and surprisingly good fries, Roy Rogers seemed to have a little more street cred than its competition–national chains like McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Burger King. For boring business reasons, its corporate owner (Marriott) ended up selling off almost all of its franchise locations about a decade ago, leaving a mere handful of locations in areas the big guys didn’t feel were worth buying out; and those meager remnants were essentially doomed, unsupported by a corporate entity amidst well-funded fast food giants.

Well, the owners of one of those remaining franchises bought the rights to the Roy Rogers name a few years ago, and are working on restoring the brand to its place as a local fast food institution. They’re undoing the cost-cutting damage, replacing ancient signs and furnishings, and planning an aggressive expansion plan. They hope to get to 100 locations in the DC metropolitan area–smaller than it once was, but a significant footprint compared to the half-dozen or so they’ve had since losing their corporate parent.

I probably wouldn’t bother writing about this if the company hadn’t been so effective in distinguishing itself in its last iteration. There was a Roy Rogers near my house in Bethesda, Maryland (on River Road). I was probably seven or eight years old the first time I went there–my parents or someone else’s took me there after soccer games all the time. I remember the anachronistic western theme, the weird orange-and-brown color scheme, and their plain burgers (you added your own toppings at the fixin’s bar). Once we had cars and very little else to do, my friends and I used to go pretty often–two or three times a month. I remember when that location was turned over to Hardee’s (not long before I graduated high school), and I remember when the Hardee’s became a McDonald’s–each successive change increasing the distance and decreasing the nostalgic bond I had with the place.

So I guess that’s a long way of saying that I hope they succeed with revitalizing the company; next time I’m in DC I’d love to stop by for a cheeseburger.