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Is Arby's Private Equity Owned?
🔴 PRIVATE EQUITY OWNED
Arby's
Includes Arby's Restaurant Group
fast food · Atlanta, GA
“They had the meats. Then Roark Capital had the receipts.”
The PE Playbook
- •Roark Capital acquired Arby's in 2011 for ~$430M and used it as the foundation for Inspire Brands — an acquisition chain that swallowed Sonic, Buffalo Wild Wings, Jimmy John's, and Dunkin'
- •Arby's has underperformed the restaurant industry by 23% since acquisition; sales declined 6.3% in 2024
- •Net loss of 48 locations in 2024 alone with closures continuing into 2025 across at least 8 states
- •Roark's strategy of acquiring brands and folding them into Inspire means each chain gets corporate management focused on the portfolio, not on making the roast beef better
Since the Acquisition
- ▸Arby's relabeled its kid-size fries and drinks as 'small,' the old small became 'medium,' and the old medium became 'large' — same portions, bigger names, and a 2024 lawsuit calls it textbook shrinkflation
- ▸A New York Post test found that small, medium, and large fries all contained nearly the same amount of food — three price points, one portion size
- ▸48 locations quietly closed in 2024, with another 14+ gone across eight states in early 2025 — if your Arby's disappeared, it probably won't be coming back
- ▸Customer reviews consistently describe roast beef that's 'dry as cardboard' with 'barely any meat on the sandwich' — what shows up in the bag looks nothing like the menu board
Sources
Also owned by Roark Capital
Buffalo Wild Wings
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restaurantSonic Drive-In
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Arby's owned by private equity?
Yes. Arby's is currently owned by Roark Capital, which acquired it in 2011. They had the meats. Then Roark Capital had the receipts.
What happened to Arby's after the acquisition?
Arby's relabeled its kid-size fries and drinks as 'small,' the old small became 'medium,' and the old medium became 'large' — same portions, bigger names, and a 2024 lawsuit calls it textbook shrinkflation A New York Post test found that small, medium, and large fries all contained nearly the same amount of food — three price points, one portion size
Who owns Arby's?
Arby's is owned by Roark Capital, which acquired it in 2011.