The Classic Look of Arby’s Has Almost Completely Vanished from Michigan

Arby's has the meats, as you likely know. The nation's leader in fast food roast beef is a leading restaurant chain. Beyond the roast beef sandwiches, things change. They always do. Consider the humble Potato Cakes, removed and then resurrected by the chain.

One thing that has forever changed at Arby's is the look of the restaurant.

Michigan's Last Stand: The Vanishing Arby's Neon Hat Sign

Look at that Arby's sign shown above. It's found on Dort Highway in Flint. It's one of the last of its kind in Michigan.

The chain has been updating its look over the course of a few decades. The chain can't change every restaurant location's look all at once, but the change of look is inevitable.

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Compare the look of the Arby's sign above with a more modern look just across town on Davison Ave. in Flint.

The neon ten-gallon hat that reads 'Arby's Roast Beef Sandwich" on the hat and "Is Delicious" on the brim.

That neon sign has meaningful nostalgia for many. A similar sign in Los Angeles become a cause célèbre for the community to save it after the restaurant along Sunset Boulevard.

The Roast Beef Belt's Relic: Hunting for Vintage Arby's Signs in Michigan

As you travel around Michigan, if you've never paid attention to the Arby's sign as its often part of the neon wallpaper of the stroads of suburban America, it may surprise you just how few of the ten-gallon Arby's hat signs exist.

There are a few others to be found: Holland Ave, in Saginaw and Euclid Ave in Bay City.

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If there is anywhere that may have the most deserving nostalgia for the classic Arby's look, it's in Michigan which is part of the rarely recognized Roast Beef Belt, the largest concertation of roast beef restaurants found in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana.