The world’s largest Arby’s sits in Colonial Heights, Virginia, and it serves a menu that most of the chain’s restaurants do not, from rotisserie chicken to a seasonal Brunswick stew. The building covers 7,125 square feet and seats 166 diners inside, plus 40 more outdoors, according to a TODAY visit published Nov. 10, 2026.
That makes it about three times the size of an average Arby’s. Inside, the dining room has a working fireplace, a long family-style table and a canoe hanging from the vaulted ceiling.
A Menu Found Only at This Arby’s
Arby’s told TODAY that the Colonial Heights location sells “unique offerings” such as rotisserie chicken, loaded baked potatoes, zucchini muffins and a seasonal Brunswick stew, according to TODAY’s Nov. 10 report. A rotisserie oven roasts whole chickens behind the counter, and packages of turnovers and zucchini bread are stacked on the wide counters. Arby’s told TODAY the location is one of a kind but reflects what fans like about the chain in general: the meats and the hospitality.
The regular menu is there too. TODAY’s writer ordered Brunswick stew, curly fries, an apple turnover and a chicken cheesesteak. Curly fries and roast beef sandwiches have long been the brand’s calling card, and Arby’s now has more than 3,200 restaurants and serves as the flagship property of Inspire Brands, according to Wikipedia.
Fast-food history fans can trace the era that set the stage for chains like this one in a rundown of fast-food chains that got their start in the 1950s. The Colonial Heights store stands apart from the rest of its own chain mainly because of its size and its menu.
Why Brunswick Stew Fits Virginia
The stew on the menu has deep regional ties. Brunswick stew is a tomato-based stew usually made with lima beans, corn, okra and other vegetables plus one or more meats, according to Wikipedia. It was originally made with small game such as squirrel or rabbit, though chicken has become the most common choice. Wikipedia notes that instructions for a squirrel version appear in James Beard’s American Cookery.
Virginia and Georgia both claim the dish, with Brunswick County in Virginia and the city of Brunswick in Georgia each saying it was developed there. Serving it seasonally at a Virginia fast-food restaurant ties the location to a dish the state claims as its own.
Food travelers who plan trips around regional dishes like this one often pair them with sightseeing; Frenz Hub’s guide to picture-perfect small towns in America and its list of 14 American landmarks are two places to start.
Families who make a road trip of a stop like this follow a long tradition. Station wagons once carried a generation of travelers on trips like these, as a look back at the station wagons that carried American families on road trips recalls, and Frenz Hub’s list of family vacation ideas includes more trips built around the road.
Inside the 7,125-Square-Foot Dining Room
From the outside, TODAY described a rustic, reddish stone building that looks more like a gallery than a fast-food stop, with a drive-thru lane and a cowboy hat-shaped sign as the giveaways. A lantern-lined path leads past an outdoor patio with tables to the front door.
The interior is split into two large seating areas. One has booths, a long family-style table with oversized chairs and a working fireplace. The other has more booths, a totem pole, animal sculptures and a sunny indoor terrace. A canoe hangs from the vaulted ceiling.
Despite the size of the building, TODAY’s writer saw only three employees working directly with customers at the registers, with more staff working in the back. The space between the soda machines and the cash registers was described as big enough to seat a wedding.
The lodge look is deliberate. In 2024, Matt Williamson, marketing coordinator with Arby’s Richmond, told Richmond TV station WTVR that the decor was “loosely based on Disney’s Wilderness Lodge,” TODAY reported. That hotel opened in 1994 and was designed to evoke American landmarks such as Glacier National Park and Yellowstone.
Who Runs the World’s Largest Arby’s
The restaurant is owned by Richmond-based The Restaurant Company, which owns 15 other Arby’s locations, according to TODAY. Another of its Arby’s, north of Richmond, is bigger than most but does not hold the title. The Arby’s RVA site run by the company says The Restaurant Company traces its start to Richard Ripp in 1967 and also operates the Can Can Brasserie in Richmond.
The location sits a short drive down Interstate 95 from Richmond, on Temple Lake Drive. Colonial Heights is an independent city in the Tri-Cities area of the Richmond metropolitan area, with a 2020 census population of 18,170, according to Wikipedia.
The afternoon TODAY visited, about 20 diners were inside. Two regulars, grandmother and granddaughter Bobbi and Ashley Johnston, told TODAY they come at least once a month and that a Sunday school class of 35 to 40 people eats lunch there after church. Ashley Johnston said the restaurant is also a gathering spot for students before school dances, and that she had never thought of it as a landmark, only as a place for people to get together.
An Arby’s representative told TODAY the restaurant “has become a beloved stop for locals and travelers alike, thanks to the dedicated team that brings it to life every day.” For drivers on Interstate 95 through central Virginia, the seasonal Brunswick stew is one of the items Arby’s says sets this location apart.
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Image: Lenin and McCarthy – CC BY-SA 3.0/Wikimedia Commons
