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Big Boy (restaurant)
Encyclopedia
Big Boy is a restaurant chain
with its headquarters in Warren, Michigan
.
Big Boy was started in 1936 by Bob Wian
, in partnership with Arnold Peterson in Glendale, California
, USA. Marriott Corporation bought the chain in 1967. One of the larger franchise operators, Elias Brothers, purchased the chain from Marriott in 1987, moving the headquarters of the company to Warren, Michigan
, and operating it until declaring bankruptcy
in 2000. Following the bankruptcy, the chain was sold to investor
Robert Liggett, Jr., who took over as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), renamed the company Big Boy Restaurants International and kept the headquarters in Warren. The company is the franchisor for more than 455 Big Boy restaurants in the United States
and Canada
.
). The inspiration for Big Boy's name, as well as the model for its mascot, was Richard Woodruff (1936–1986), of Glendale, California
. When he was six years old, he walked into the diner Bob's Pantry as Bob Wian was attempting to name his new hamburger. Wian said, "Hello, Big Boy" to Woodruff, and the name stuck. Warner Bros.
animation artist Ben Washam
sketched Richard's caricature
, which became the character seen on the company logo. This character would also eventually be featured in The Adventures of Big Boy comic book, produced as a promotional giveaway for children visiting the restaurant. Since 1997, the comic book has been produced by Craig Yoe
's Yoe! Studio. Another longtime promotion was the Big Boy Kids Club
, offering coupons and premiums to members, who joined by sending in an application from the comic book.
A Big Boy sandwich consists of two thin beef patties placed on a three layer sesame seed bun with lettuce, a single slice of cheese, and Big Boy special sauce, or (in some locations) tartar sauce
on each slice of bun. Unlike the similar McDonald's Big Mac
, which was patterned after the Big Boy, onions were not included in the original recipe. They had to be ordered as an extra. They also offer salads, dinner combinations, and various desserts.
In addition to the Bob's Big Boy name, the "Big Boy" concept, menu, and mascot were originally franchised to a wide number of regional franchise holders, listed below (with approximate original territory in parentheses). Of these, only Frisch's still maintains franchise rights to the "Big Boy" name, and many of the other former franchise owners (Shoney's, for example) have expanded into areas that were once the territory of another franchise holder, and the current Big Boy Restaurants International has been expanding its Big Boy name into territories formerly held by franchisees.
Unlike most modern franchises, the various restaurants differed somewhat from one another in terms of pricing and menu offerings.
Also, Big Boy Japan owns and operates 296 locations (as of September 2007) throughout Japan under four restaurant names: Big Boy (199 stores), Milky Way (50), Victoria Station
(43), and Grill Dan (4).
In addition, Big Boy established @burger, a new concept casual dining restaurant in Ann Arbor, Michigan
.
Chain store
Chain stores are retail outlets that share a brand and central management, and usually have standardized business methods and practices. These characteristics also apply to chain restaurants and some service-oriented chain businesses. In retail, dining and many service categories, chain businesses...
with its headquarters in Warren, Michigan
Warren, Michigan
Warren is a city in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The 2010 census places the city's population at 134,056, making Warren the largest city in Macomb County, the third largest city in Michigan, and Metro Detroit's largest suburb....
.
Big Boy was started in 1936 by Bob Wian
Bob Wian
Robert C. "Bob" Wian was the founder of the Big Boy restaurant chain. The restaurant got its start in a 10-stool Glendale, California, hamburger stand in 1936 with an investment of $350 which Wian got from the sale of a used car. He sold the Big Boy chain to the Marriott Corp. in 1967 for seven...
, in partnership with Arnold Peterson in Glendale, California
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
, USA. Marriott Corporation bought the chain in 1967. One of the larger franchise operators, Elias Brothers, purchased the chain from Marriott in 1987, moving the headquarters of the company to Warren, Michigan
Warren, Michigan
Warren is a city in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The 2010 census places the city's population at 134,056, making Warren the largest city in Macomb County, the third largest city in Michigan, and Metro Detroit's largest suburb....
, and operating it until declaring bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
in 2000. Following the bankruptcy, the chain was sold to investor
Investor
An investor is a party that makes an investment into one or more categories of assets --- equity, debt securities, real estate, currency, commodity, derivatives such as put and call options, etc...
Robert Liggett, Jr., who took over as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), renamed the company Big Boy Restaurants International and kept the headquarters in Warren. The company is the franchisor for more than 455 Big Boy restaurants in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Origin
The chain is best known for its trademark chubby boy in red- and white-checked overalls holding a Big Boy sandwich (double-decker cheeseburgerCheeseburger
A cheeseburger is a hamburger with cheese that has been added to it. Traditionally, the cheese is placed on top of the patty, but the burger can include many variations in structure, ingredients, and composition...
). The inspiration for Big Boy's name, as well as the model for its mascot, was Richard Woodruff (1936–1986), of Glendale, California
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
. When he was six years old, he walked into the diner Bob's Pantry as Bob Wian was attempting to name his new hamburger. Wian said, "Hello, Big Boy" to Woodruff, and the name stuck. Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Cartoons
Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. was the in-house division of Warner Bros. Pictures during the Golden Age of American animation. One of the most successful animation studios in American media history, Warner Bros. Cartoons was primarily responsible for the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical...
animation artist Ben Washam
Ben Washam
Benjamin Alfred Washam was an American animator who is best known for working under director Chuck Jones for nearly 30 years. Washam worked at Warner Bros. Cartoons from 1941 until 1962, mainly under the direction of Chuck Jones. He also worked on made-for-television cartoons in the early 1960s...
sketched Richard's caricature
Caricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
, which became the character seen on the company logo. This character would also eventually be featured in The Adventures of Big Boy comic book, produced as a promotional giveaway for children visiting the restaurant. Since 1997, the comic book has been produced by Craig Yoe
Craig Yoe
Craig Yoe is an author, editor, art director, graphic designer, cartoonist and comics historian, best known for his Yoe! Studio creations and his line of Yoe! Books...
's Yoe! Studio. Another longtime promotion was the Big Boy Kids Club
Kids club
A kids club is a kind of fan club, created not around a celebrity, but rather around a commercial entity that caters to children or families, or the entity's mascot...
, offering coupons and premiums to members, who joined by sending in an application from the comic book.
Tartar sauce
Tartare sauce is a creamy white sauce frequently used to season fried seafood dishes.-Composition:...
on each slice of bun. Unlike the similar McDonald's Big Mac
Big Mac
The Big Mac is a hamburger sold by McDonald's, an international fast food restaurant chain. It is one of the company's signature products...
, which was patterned after the Big Boy, onions were not included in the original recipe. They had to be ordered as an extra. They also offer salads, dinner combinations, and various desserts.
Regional franchises
Unlike most modern franchises, the various restaurants differed somewhat from one another in terms of pricing and menu offerings.
- Abdow's (Massachusetts, Connecticut) now defunct, many converted to Elixi Corp's Bickfords Family Restaurants
- Azar's (Northern Indiana, Colorado)
- Becker's (Rochester, NY area before TJ's)
- Big Boy of Florida (Exclusive rights to the Central Florida territory)
- Bob's (California, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, as well as Indiana and Pennsylvania turnpike and airport locations operated in several states by the Marriott Corp.)
- Eat'n ParkEat'n ParkEat'n Park is a restaurant chain based in Homestead, Pennsylvania with over 75 locations in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The chain is known for its Smiley Cookies.-History:...
(metro Pittsburgh) dropped Big Boy in 1975. - Elby's (West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio) owned the Big Boy rights to northern West Virginia, originally through Shoney's and quickly expanded Big Boy into bordering Ohio counties, subfranchised through Frisch's, and later expanded through Pennsylvania. A trademark battle with Frisch's over Ohio operations caused Elby's to drop Big Boy affiliation, to be followed by Shoney'sShoney'sShoney’s is a privately held restaurant chain that operates primarily in the Southeast, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. It is named after Alex Schoenbaum, who was the owner of the original chain of Big Boy restaurants in the southeastern United States...
et al. - Elias Brothers (Michigan, Northeastern Ohio, Ontario, Canada)
- Frisch'sFrisch'sFrisch's Big Boy is a regional restaurant chain from the Big Boy franchise. Today there are over ninety restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. Frisch's also owns numerous Golden Corral restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia...
(Ohio, Kentucky, S. Indiana, Florida until the early 1990s) the Cincinnati restaurant chain and first franchisee, began serving Big Boy hamburgerHamburgerA hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...
s in 1946; Frisch's now operates 88 Big Boys & franchises 32 Big Boys to others. They also franchise Golden CorralGolden CorralGolden Corral is an American family-style restaurant chain that features a large buffet and grill offering numerous hot and cold items, a carving station and their Brass Bell Bakery...
s in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky. - JB's (Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, Washington, New Mexico, Nebraska, Kansas, New Jersey)
- JB's (Canada) (Ontario and Alberta in the 1970s)
- Kebo's (Seattle & Tacoma, Washington area before JB's and Bob's)
- Ken's (Maryland - suburban Washington DC, became Bob's late 1960s)
- Kip's (Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas)
- Lendy's (Western Virginia)
- Leo's (Spokane, Washington; Montana)
- Mady's (Windsor, Ontario, Canada)
- Manners (Northeastern Ohio)
- Marc's (Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois) were owned by the Marcus CorporationMarcus CorporationThe Marcus Corporation is a publicly held company headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The company operates two principal divisions: Marcus Theatres and Marcus Hotels and Resorts. One of the company's principal assets, Baymont Motels, was sold to La Quinta Corporation in 2003...
. Some were sold, others were converted to Marc's Cafe & Coffee Mill and later Annie's American Cafe. Most now operate as PerkinsPerkins Restaurant and BakeryPerkins Restaurant and Bakery is a North American casual dining restaurant chain which serves breakfast throughout the day, including pancakes. Perkins also has a bakery that sells pastries that are baked fresh daily.- History :...
. - McDowell's (North Dakota)
- Shoney'sShoney'sShoney’s is a privately held restaurant chain that operates primarily in the Southeast, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. It is named after Alex Schoenbaum, who was the owner of the original chain of Big Boy restaurants in the southeastern United States...
(Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina, West Virginia, Ohio, Missouri, Maryland), founded by and named after Alex SchoenbaumAlex SchoenbaumAlex Schoenbaum was an American collegiate football player and businessman in the hospitality industry, eventually operating a chain of motels and over 1,000 restaurants...
, no longer displays the Big Boy Statue, because it dropped its relationship with Big Boy in 1984 in order to expand to other states where others owned the trademark. It was the second Big Boy franchisee and subfranchised to Elby's and Lendy's.). - Ted's (Rhode Island)
- TJ's (New York)
- Tops (Illinois)
- Tote's (St. Louis area before Shoney's)
- Vip's (New Mexico)
- Yoda's (Western Virginia)
Also, Big Boy Japan owns and operates 296 locations (as of September 2007) throughout Japan under four restaurant names: Big Boy (199 stores), Milky Way (50), Victoria Station
Victoria Station (Restaurant)
Victoria Station is a chain of railroad-themed prime rib houses that was at the peak of its popularity in the 1970s, but filed for bankruptcy in 1986. The company once had some 100 locations in the U.S. and Canada, but the number has dropped to one, in Salem, Massachusetts...
(43), and Grill Dan (4).
In addition, Big Boy established @burger, a new concept casual dining restaurant in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
.