Arby's signage

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Super S
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Arby's signage

Post by Super S »

There are four versions of the Arby's road sign that I can recall.

The oldest was a giant hat that read "Arby's Roast Beef Sandwich is delicious"

The next three are actually variations of the current logo.

The most common one has the Arby's name and the outline of the "hat" in red, with a black background. (I know of one location which has a rotating one, at Fourth Plain and Andresen Road in Vancouver, WA. The only one I have seen that rotates, actually.)

There is also one I remember, but have not seen in years, where the Arby's name is red, but the outline of the "hat" is yellow.

More recently, I have seen a small number of newer locations where the background of the sign is painted white.

The building signage varies depending on the color of the building itself. I have seen white letters, as well as red letters. Regarding the red, I have seen regular as well as signs with exposed neon tubes in use.

I am curious what year the current logo came into use. My guess is late 70s. I am also curious when the variations appeared, and if the white background is being used at all new locations or if the black background is still being installed. Arby's hasn't opened a new restaurant close to me in several years, and actually seems to be closing a few locations.
Super S
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Re: Arby's signage

Post by Super S »

Ironically enough, just a few days later, Arby's has changed their logo. Basically the same one but with all lowercase letters.
tkaye
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Re: Arby's signage

Post by tkaye »

According to the trademark filing, the just-replaced logo was first used in 1979, but I have seen it in print ads dating back to 1977.

That new typeface doesn't look right grafted onto the old logo -- they don't fit together.
Attachments
Here's a great ad recruiting new franchises, found in a September 1968 issue of The Seattle Times.
Here's a great ad recruiting new franchises, found in a September 1968 issue of The Seattle Times.
StoreLiker2006
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Re: Arby's signage

Post by StoreLiker2006 »

tkaye wrote:According to the trademark filing, the just-replaced logo was first used in 1979, but I have seen it in print ads dating back to 1977.

That new typeface doesn't look right grafted onto the old logo -- they don't fit together.
According to Arby's itself, their prior logo dated to 1975 (meaning the current cowboy hat motif with the older typeface).

~Ben
Last edited by StoreLiker2006 on 04 Nov 2012 14:01, edited 1 time in total.
Super S
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Re: Arby's signage

Post by Super S »

There is still an Arby's in the Tacoma, WA area using that old "Roast Beef" sign. I drove past it last week when I was up there.
tkaye
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Re: Arby's signage

Post by tkaye »

Super S wrote:There is still an Arby's in the Tacoma, WA area using that old "Roast Beef" sign. I drove past it last week when I was up there.
Also, the building is an old stagecoach design that has been expanded. Restrooms are still on the outside and most of the dining room is a step higher because it was added on later.
StoreLiker2006
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Re: Arby's signage

Post by StoreLiker2006 »

Were there any Arby's stores in the Portland area that had the original giant cowboy hat sign reading "Arby's Roast Beef"? I know I can't envision the 10499 SE 82nd Ave. store (inside the parking area of Southgate Shopping Center) as having one, though.

~Ben
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Re: Arby's signage

Post by NoVa Grocery Buff »

Up until recently, there were 2 Arby's in Roanoke that still had the original sign, they have since been updated with the new sign but you can still see the old sign in street view.
1 - https://goo.gl/maps/sbX98bkw8iB2
2 - https://goo.gl/maps/uQe9XYGW9kp

In the Richmond, VA market there are multiple unique and large Arby's locations, I believe they are all owned by the same franchise. The Colonial Heights location I know has old signage as seen in the street view link.
https://goo.gl/maps/16771TXvemK2

Just a few of the other Richmond locations that are normal size but with the older sign still. Interesting that so many in one market still have the older sign but in almost every other market Arby's seems to be doing a blanket update to the new sign/logo.
https://goo.gl/maps/yDXRvYqdKPG2
https://goo.gl/maps/ZEu9CnwJQfz
https://goo.gl/maps/jRRDYzoUShG2
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