How the Roy Rogers fast-food chain is wrangling for a N.J. revival
Sumaiyah Jackson, left, and Brian Brady, right, serve food at the grand opening of Roy Rogers in Cherry Hill, NJ, on June 25 2025.
An earlier version of this story was published in December 2024.
Roy Rogers, nicknamed the “King of the Cowboys,” died more than a quarter-century ago. But, a 57-year-old fast-food restaurant chain that still bears his name is attempting a comeback, starting in South Jersey.
A new Roy Rogers restaurant opened last week in Cherry Hill. It is the first Roy Rogers to open in that area of South Jersey in at least three decades, according to Jim Plamondon, co-president of Roy Rogers Restaurants.
The first 50 customers in line were rewarded with one free regular combo meal a week for 12 months, the company said.
- MORE: Iconic fast-food chain making a surprising N.J. comeback after nearly disappearing
Marc Orgiefsky of Burlington was the first to show up after arriving at midnight, 6ABC reported. He secured his place more than 10 hours before the restaurant opened to the public.
Roy Rogers co-owner, Jim Plemondon, talks with a customer at the grand opening of Roy Rogers in Cherry Hill, NJ, on June 25 2025.
“I used to work at the Moorestown Mall years ago and there was a Roy Rogers in the mall and the food there was great,” Orgiefsky told 6ABC.
In its heyday, there were around 600 Roy Rogers in the U.S., including more than 100 in New Jersey. The western-themed restaurant specializes in fried chicken, roast beef and hamburgers, with customers adding pickles, tomatoes and other toppings at the “Fixin’s Bar.”
Cherry Hill once was home to three Roy Rogers. Now there are only two in all of New Jersey, in Brick and Pine Beach in Ocean County, along with 37 others in Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia.
Crystal Singleton, left, and Jonathan Barton, right, help customers at the grand opening of Roy Rogers in Cherry Hill, NJ, on June 25 2025.
The chain, though, is planning a modest comeback, starting with the new location in Cherry Hill.
“We plan to build on this success and expand even further in the market,” said Joe Briglia, the company’s director of real estate and franchise development, told NJ Advance Media in December.
Maybe not everyone knows about Roy Rogers the person, but cowboys are timeless and also getting a renewed burst of attention due to the popular “Yellowstone” television series about a family-owned cattle ranch in Montana.
The inside of the newly opened Roy Rogers in Cherry Hill, NJ, on June 25 2025.
That can’t hurt the restaurant chain, which features a “western decor” theme in its locations, Plamondon told NJ Advance Media last fall.
“Cowboys are cool. People love cowboys, right? Think ‘Yellowstone.’ It’s still red hot. I don’t think that’s ever going to change. We embrace the cowboy because of that,” Plamondon said.
The restaurants have a cowboy theme but with a modernized look, he said. Examples include the wood grain accents and star and sun symbol elements in the decor, along with nostalgic posters on the walls.
“There’s something called the cowboy code. We call it the ‘Code of Roy,’ where its honesty and integrity and quality in our food. That’s the theme of our image and advertising and culture,” Plamondon said.
Leslie Kim, left, fans herself while she and Brian Huyanh, right, wait for the doors to open at the grand opening of Roy Rogers in Cherry Hill, NJ, on June 25 2025.
For those unfamiliar with Roy Rogers the restaurant, or Roy Rogers the 20th century cultural icon, here’s what you need to know:
Cherry Hill JROTC Cadet Maxwell Caine helps raise the American flag at the grand opening of Roy Rogers in Cherry Hill, NJ, on June 25 2025.
Who was Roy Rogers?
Cherry Hill mayor, David Fleisher, speaks at the grand opening of Roy Rogers in Cherry Hill, NJ, on June 25 2025.
Rogers, born in 1911, was a singer, actor, rodeo performer and pilot, perhaps best-known for starring with his wife, Dale Evans, and horse, Trigger, on “The Roy Rogers Show” in the 1950s. He appeared in nearly 90 movies between the 1930s and 1970s.
“Happy Trails,” the show’s theme song, was sung by the couple and has been covered by numerous artists, including by rock band Van Halen in the early 1980s.
Roy Rogers co-owner, Jim Plamondon, speaks at the grand opening of Roy Rogers in Cherry Hill, NJ, on June 25 2025.
Elton John’s 1973 album, “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” has a song entitled, “Roy Rogers,” with lyrics referencing “the great sequin cowboy who sings of the plains/ of roundups and rustlers and home on the range.”
Chicken and a biscuit sit at the counter at the grand opening of Roy Rogers in Cherry Hill, NJ, on June 25 2025.
Rogers died in 1998, but his image lives on through the restaurants.
“We occasionally will include him in our advertising on social media and we have pictures of Roy Rogers in our restaurants. When we open in Cherry Hill, you’ll see a beautiful picture of Roy, a black and white, really cool kind of throwback old movie scene,” Plamondon said.
How did his name end up on a restaurant chain?
Rogers licensed his name to Marriott, which in 1968 renamed some restaurants after Rogers, which quickly evolved into hundreds of locations.
Rogers never ran the restaurants, though he did appear to take pride in them. He appeared in a 1978 TV commercial wearing a cowboy hat, holding a tray of roast beef and greeting customers while touting the quality of the burgers.
“Take it from me, pardner, they’re the best you’ve ever tasted,” Rogers said.
What’s on the menu?
For lunch and dinner, the menu includes a wide range of chicken and burgers, along with roast beef sandwiches and sliders.
The “Gold Rush Chicken Sandwich,” as described on the menu, has crispy, white-meat chicken served on a buttery Kaiser roll with a slice of Monterey Jack cheese topped with golden barbecue sauce and crispy Smithfield bacon. NJ.com food writer Jeremy Schneider in 2021 ranked it 13th on his list of 15 fast-food chicken sandwiches available in New Jersey.
Customers wait for the doors to open at the grand opening of Roy Rogers in Cherry Hill, NJ, on June 25 2025.
“It’s our third most popular sandwich, behind the roast beef and cheeseburgers,” Plamondon said.
The “Double R Bar Burger” is a quarter-pounder served on a buttery Kaiser roll with a slice of American cheese and topped with sliced and seared Smithfield ham. NJ.com food writer Pete Genovese in 2024 ranked Roy Rogers 13th out of 21 burger chains in New Jersey.
Baked beans, coleslaw, fries, fruit cup, mashed potatoes and salads are among the sides.
Breakfast options include a western platter featuring scrambled eggs and breakfast fries with creamy chipped beef served over a split, buttermilk biscuit.
What is the ‘Fixin’s Bar’?
It is such a simple concept, yet it has been and remains perhaps the signature attraction of Roy Rogers restaurants.
The Fixin’s Bar is stocked with toppings, such as lettuce, tomatoes, onions, peppers and pickles. How much you add on, that’s up to you — at no extra cost.
“That is a point of difference that sets us apart,” Plamondon said, in drawing a contrast with McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King.
“They dress their sandwiches. I suppose you can have a special order, but that’s not their shtick. Ours is — serve them, generally speaking, plain, and then let the guest take care of it. And that’s what they love about us,” Plamondon said.
Didn’t Roy Rogers already attempt a New Jersey expansion?
The fast-food market is perpetually challenging, and Roy Rogers encountered some turbulence in the not-too-distant past.
Franchises in Franklin Borough in Sussex County, and Flemington in Hunterdon County opened in 2015 and 2016, respectively, amid much fanfare and a purported expansion push. However, both locations closed six days apart in 2019, according to the company.
Does the company have a name for its longtime fans?
Yes — it’s “Royalists.”
“Some, not all, but some, can be older. They do remember the Roy’s back in the heyday. They are certainly an audience that’s been with us, through and through,” Plamondon said.
The goal is to break through with the non-Royalists, including those who had not yet been born when Rogers died.
“The challenge for us — and any brand, really — is to attract that younger audience, because you’ve got to keep replenishing your audiences,” Plamondon said.
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