Virginia Is Home To The Most Extravagant Arby's In The US

There's something delightfully oxymoronic about the phrase "the world's most extravagant Arby's." It's like referring to "the world's softest diamond," or "the most graceful bull in a china shop." Arby's may be a monument to excess, but that excess begins and ends with the food. After all, we do not need brightly lit interiors or comfortable upholstery when we have "the meats." And yet, in the town of Colonial Heights, Virginia, there is an incredibly extravagant Arby's location that stands as the largest Arby's in the world.

Civil War buffs may know Colonial Heights as the home of Violet Bank, the plantation house Robert E. Lee used as his headquarters during part of the Siege of Petersburg in 1864. But Colonial Heights is also not far from Virginia's capital, Richmond. This city happens to be home to The Restaurant Company, which operates numerous Arby's locations in the greater Richmond area, including the world's largest. In the past, Arby's has been heavily criticized in Richmond thanks to a location that was overrun with rats. However, The Restaurant Company's huge Colonial Heights location has gone someway in adding a little shine back to the Arby's name. 

Any Arby's worth its horsey sauce is going to serve the chain's typical menu: great heaps of roast beef piled high on a sandwich, those signature curly fries, and a hamburger which was decades in the making. The world's largest Arby's is no exception, but it has more to offer than just the usual Arby's experience. Elsewhere in the 7,125-square-foot establishment – that's three times the size of a normal Arby's — there's a barbacoa station, just in case you wanted another form of roasted meat to shove down your gullet. Not only that, but there are several bold, idiosyncratic design choices that are part of the fun of the franchise system.

The interior designers were allegedly inspired by Disney's Wilderness Lodge, and you can tell just by looking at it. Plenty of Arby's have wood paneling, but only the world's largest Arby's has a double-sided, brick fireplace, a totem pole, and a statue of a giant bear. But rest assured, you don't have to share your BBQ Bacon Burger, nor any of the chain's wonderful sides, with the big guy.