Some days we’re all just a little Nihilist Arby’s…
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When that slogan came up in the video, my mouse pointer was hovering over the timeline which caused the preview thumbnail to obscure the last “e” in “You can eat here”.
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But for the story here, I’d never heard of Rax. But I have to agree re the cause of the failure. Mr. Delicious seems to merely be the exclamation point on Rax’s desperation.
Shame, i guess it would’ve made more sense to be a dine-in kind of place or really commit to the fast-food concept and simplify the menu. The weird mascot is… next level crazy
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Oh come on, nobody talkin’ bout the Alligator drink cup with plastic straw??? I had a bag full of those things (footballs, owls, monkeys too). Collectible!
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Clearly, Rax was just a series bad decision making throughout its limited existence starting with the name “Rax” itself, which immediately reads as a pest control company and definitely not an eatery. But, then maybe they were subtly advertising where their meat came from.
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There was a Rax across from the north end of OSU, next to the dorms. To perpetually starved college students, the endless salad bar (supplemented with pasta and breadsticks) was a godsend. I have a feeling that we may have contributed significantly to Rax going out of business. OTOH, what brain trust wanted to put what amounted to free food next to a college campus?
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At least the University of Florida got wise and set up an all-you-can-eat cafeteria on campus. Somewhat healthier than the surrounding fast-food joints.
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Rax, Zantigo, Egg Roll King, BW-3, Flying Tomato…the food choices were plentiful there in the 1980s.
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You’re not missing much not having Wendys.
I mean its ok, in that “oh god now I feel guilty” way that greasy food often makes me feel, but its just another version of industrialized “People Chow” that those chains tend to be.
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I worked at Rax Roast Beef for two hours and quit. Never got paid either.
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The one in Joliet, IL is still around. I remember them back in the '80s, and it was a rare chain to begin with. I never saw an ad for them, in print or on TV. It’s at least on a busy commercial street with no shortage of traffic.
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There’s a Rax in Norway, too… or Sweden, can’t remember.
That’s Hank Green! He and his brother, John, are fantastic dudes.
Wendys just opened in Reading and Oxford in the UK. I haven’t been though, I suspect I might have an onion allergy problem with their food.
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I still find it deeply peculiar that two of Ohio’s contributions to the fast food world are deeply nihilistic roast beef places.
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Wendy’s isn’t widespread over there?
I distinctly remember one when I lived in Central London in the '80s. It was right across the street. Maybe they pulled up stakes and left?
ETA: seems that’s exactly what happened. They closed all UK stores in 1999
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“We will continue to mansplain the joke until everybody is laughing!”
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I thought the same thing. I actually thought maybe the mascot was gonna be a rat but then chuck e cheese actually made that work so a rat perhaps would have been better? Rex the rat reps rax.
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But can they compete with little chef?
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