Why the iconic Hollywood Arby’s sign from Sunset Boulevard was at Stagecoach

A weekend in the desert is a go-to getaway for Southern Californians — even if you’re a beloved neon sign.

Nearly two years after the Hollywood Arby’s closed, its cowboy hat shone again this weekend at the Stagecoach Music Festival in Indio.

The restored sign showed up more than 130 miles away from its original home as part of the roast beef chain’s pop-up at the festival at the Empire Polo Club, where it became one of the event’s go-to photo spots.

“As you can see, everyone’s loving it. Everyone’s getting a photo op standing in front of it,” Arby’s franchisee Roger Amaya said.

Over the three days, people moseyed by the pop-up near Diplo’s Honky Tonk, sometimes lining up to wait their turn to take a photo in front of the sign. Some climbed on the surrounding hay bales for a better pose, asking others in line to snap their photo in front of the cowboy hat emblazoned with the words “Arby’s roast beef sandwich is delicious.”

A number of people we talked to taking photos weren’t from L.A. and didn’t know the lore of the Hollywood Arby’s sign — they just liked the visual.

The sign’s original location was the Arby’s at 5920 Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood, which had been open for more than 55 years when it shuttered in June 2024.

The family that owned the location said at the time that rising food costs, the post-pandemic changes in the neighborhood and a law that raised minimum wage contributed to the closure.

Amaya said that Amir Siddiqi, head of a group of Arby’s franchises, was able to get the sign from the Hollywood location and have it restored.

“We were able to bring it back to life here and bring it to all the fans of Arby’s out there,” Amaya said.

Now that Stagecoach is over, where will the sign go next?

“That’s the big question, so you gotta stay tuned,” Amaya said.