Roy Rogers Franchise Company, LLC is a chain of fast food restaurants primarily located in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States.

However, Marriott first used the Roy Rogers Roast Beef name on conversions of the company's Junior Hot Shoppes in the Washington, D.C. area in April 1968, then the existing RoBee's stores.

[8] During the acquisition, in January 1968, the competing roast beef chain Arby's sued RoBee's for trademark infringement and (other similarities that it considered) unfair competition.

Already interested in associating with a chain restaurant, Rogers was in similar discussions with another company when Marriott called.

[11] Nonetheless, he accepted Marriott's offer: Rogers would receive a licensing fee for use of his name and also be paid for personal appearances at the restaurants.

Pittsburgh franchisee Eat'n Park rejected the offer and took public offense at paying fees to Rogers.

[24] The first Roy Rogers restaurant opened up on Co- founder and Hot Shoppes manager, Henry L. Wright's property in April 1968 in the Bailey's Crossroads section of Falls Church, Virginia, on the corner of Leesburg Pike and Carlin Springs Road (5603 Leesburg Pike).

The area was selected because Marriott was headquartered in metropolitan Washington, D.C.,[29] with the River Road unit located directly across the street.

[32] However, growth halted in 1970, when Marriott suspended Roy Rogers franchising, due to financial losses from closing failing locations.

[34][35] After franchising resumed, only 172 restaurants were open by September 1972,[36] a quarter of the 700 stores projected four years earlier.

[28] In 1976, a Roy Rogers in Fairfax, Virginia, was robbed, where five employees were herded into the restaurant's freezer and shot in the head.

Hardee's finally sold the remaining Roy Rogers locations to McDonald's, Wendy's, and Boston Market between 1994 and 1996.

[47] Prior to the Hardee's acquisition, Roy Rogers cooked its fries in a blend of beef tallow and vegetable oil.

The growth circle would slowly get bigger and include New York, the Eastern Seaboard, and states like Ohio, Tennessee, Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia.

[56] In 2025, Roy Rogers will open a third location in Leesburg, Virginia, where it has already has a strong presence as well as one in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

Hot Shoppes) and the franchises located throughout Mid-Atlantic highway rest-stops serve the food in a cafeteria-style.

In the cafeteria-style restaurants, customers push their trays on rails past stations stocked with pre-wrapped packages of hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and roast-beef sandwiches.

Seasonal items that select Roy Rogers locations occasionally offer include the beer-battered cod sandwich and platter.