Bob’s Big Boy – What Happened?
This is Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank, California, 1958.
The one I frequented in high school was in Van Nuys, CA, but I did go to the Burbank location a few times during those years.
The legacy of Big Boy Restaurants started in 1936 when Bob Wian began a small enterprise on Colorado Street in Glendale, California. He sold his car for $350 and opened Bob’s Pantry, a small, 10-seat diner.
According to the history of the original restaurant, the famous Big Boy hamburger was created one day when members of an orchestra stopped in and asked if Wian could create something different from the usual hamburger. Wian created a “Double-Deck Cheeseburger” with two beef patties and a special sauce. The orchestra loved the burger, and other customers who were there that day asked if they could try this new burger, too.
The name “Big Boy” came about when Bob Wian had a chubby young boy enter his restaurant one day. “He was about six, and rolls of fat protruded where his shirt and pants were designed to meet. I was amused by the youngster—jolly, healthy-looking, and a lover of good things to eat; I called him Big Boy.” Wian decided to name his new hamburger Big Boy, after the boy. The burger’s success inspired him to rename his diner “Bob’s Big Boy.”
The restaurants became so successful that they captured the attention of the Marriott Corporation, who bought the Big Boy chain in 1967. In 1987, one of the largest franchise operators, the Elias Brothers, purchased the chain from Marriott and moved its headquarters to Warren, Michigan. The Elias Brothers operated the restaurants until they declared bankruptcy in 2000. It has since been owned by several entities and operated by multiple franchise groups. The different names under which these franchises include Abdow’s, Bob’s, Shoney’s, and many more.
Although the name Big Boy was originally applied to the famous double-decker hamburger, Big Boy restaurants are also noted for their signature food items, such as onion rings, shakes, and strawberry pie.
The oldest remaining Bob’s Big Boy in America is in Burbank, California. It was established in 1949 and designed as a drive-in where carhops brought the food out on trays.
When I first put this together in 2018, there were 81 locations left, but now there are only 55, with 84% of them located in Michigan.
I don’t understand why because their restaurants were always busy when we visited.
Click Here to see if there is a surviving Bob’s Big Boy near you