9 Essential Talking Points for the Arby's Enthusiast
Back in August, reader Tom Brandt made a request. A demand, really.
That Arby's spread didn't make the cut this issue, but we did print your tweet (edited for length) on the Mail Bonding page.
When we print your letter, you get a t-shirt. That might keep you warm at night in temperate climates, but won't quench your thirst for Arby's info. Here's a little side dish for you, on the house.
1. Just so we're clear, Arby's — R.B.'s — doesn't refer to Roast Beef. The R.B. stands for Raffel Brothers, as in founders Forrest and Leroy Raffel.
2. Back in 2004, a man found part of a thumb in his chicken sandwich at an Arby's in Tipp City, Ohio. "I was chewing on it and there was something I could not chew," the man told the Chicago Tribune. "I spit it out and I saw finger prints on it."
3. Speaking of employees losing body parts, Arby's cost Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel part of his middle finger. He worked there as a teenager and cut himself slicing meat. He went swimming before getting stitches and the wound became severely infected—the top of his finger had to be amputated. As President Obama once joked about his former chief of staff, the amputation "rendered him mute."
4. Here's a question Arby's thought people were asking frequently enough to warrant a spot on the Arbys.com FAQ circa 2001:
“Arby’s® sounds like exactly the franchise I’m looking for and I like the quality and uniqueness of the food as well as the new building design. What geographic areas are currently being targeted by Arby’s® for development and whom do I call for more information?”
6. More recently, Arby's was part of the Wendy’s/Arby’s Group Inc., and earlier this year the Arby's half was sold to Roark Capital Group, an Atlanta-based private equity firm.
7. Zach Galifianakis loves Arby's. Or at least he loves using Arby's as a punchline. In 2009, Movieline rounded up multiple mentions of Arby's in his act and interviews. (Example: When asked how fame had changed his life, Galifianakis said he "can get a really good table at Arby’s now.")
8. Their famous "I'm thinking Arby's" slogan may have been inspired by David Puddy on Seinfeld.
9. OK, there's no actual evidence of that, but Puddy did once tell Elaine it "feels like an Arby's night," which sounds like at least a rough draft.
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