Most of us have heard of or eaten at one of the Big Boy restaurants. I’ve seen them all over (at least around the east). Many of the ones I’ve seen have been called “Bob’s Big Boy” (and this is often what I hear them referred to generically). However, I’ve also seen other names preceeding the “Big Boy” suffix, restaurants featuring the “Big Boy” mascot, but omitting the actual phrase in their names, and so on.
Therefore: how are Big Boy franchises handled? Is each independantly owned (with the owner’s name tacked on the front)? If this is the case, why are so many of them known as “Bob’s”? Could it be that the “Big Boy” character has fallen into the public domain, somehow?
Big Boy Corporation will sell franchises to individuals or to groups. It just happens that most of the Great Lakes region of Big Boy franchises are controlled by a few fairly large organizations: Frisch’s, Elias Brothers, and Bob’s. (There could be others, but I’m not familiar with them and I don’t know who controls the California/Nevada area or if they even occur in the South or the Northwest.)
They disappeared from Virginia about 10 years or so ago. They vanished from Pennsylvania around the same time.
This, and a Murphy Brown episode based on the closing of all “Meaty Boy”(Their mascot was all but identical to Big Boy) restaurants, led me to believe that Big Boy had gone big belly up.
Either, I’ve come unstuck in time-again (and Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughter House Five is, trust me, NO help in these situations), or those checked overalls still grace the highways and byways of America. Assuming that the second is the case, where have other Doper’s seen Big Boys recently? Can anyone provide an explanation of why my state has none?
In Georgia, it was Shoney’s. I’ve also seen a Big Boy chain named Vips. We don’t seem to have them up here in New York so I don’t know if they are out of business or not.
This History of Big Boy page from their web site says that the first Big Bob was opened by Bob Wian of Glendale, California, which may be why so many are called “Bob’s.” My guess would be that restaurants owned by the parent company are called “Bob’s,” while other franchisees are allowed to put their own name on it.
I recall seeing “Azar’s Big Boy” in the eastern U.S., but not recently.
Springfield, Illinois, had a Shoney’s Big Boy the last time I lived there, about 30 years ago. Shoney’s here in Charleston, SC, is very popular, but it’s no Big Boy.
Interesting that you have “Shoney’s Big Boys”; when I’m in the Midwest, I see (and have eaten at) “Shoney’s”, although these had no advertised Big Boy connection (although the restaurants themselves are the same kinda thing as Big Boys).
In Alabama, they’re called “Shoney’s Big Boy”, as well. I, too, have been watching them disappear quite rapidly over the last couple of years.
There are a few left, but only one or two even remotely near where I live.
I’ve never thought their food was worth a durn, except maybe in the earlier days. The last decade or so, it was too expensive and terrible food to boot.
Remember Po’ Folks? Did you have those in 'Bama? We did over here, but now it’s just Folks.
Correct me if I’m wrong here, but I suspect the orginal goes out of business and the new owners wanna capitalize on the name, and so they keep part of it.
Shoney’s used to be a Big Boy franchisee. They wanted to move into markets that were controlled by Frisch’s Big Boy (like Lexington, Ky, Louisville, Cincinnati). Big Boy doesn’t (or at least used not to) allow more than one Big Boy franchisee in the area. So Shoney’s dropped Big Boy, just became Shoney’s, made their menu similar to Big Boy’s, and moved into those areas. Frisch’s Big Boy is all over Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, with about 85 stores. Personal opinion, Shoney’s blows, and I love Big Boy. Especially the fish sandwich.
Shoney’s dropped the “Big Boy” from their name a number of years ago and have been slowly dying ever since. In the town next over from here, it used to be a tradition on homecoming for someone from the local high school to steal the Big Boy from in front of the local Shoney’s and smuggle it into the football game. I’m not sure what stopped the tradition. I think that someone stole it and put it on the train tracks and the local Shoney’s never bothered to replace it.
I know there were a number of “Elby’s Big Boy” restaurants in Western PA a few years ago (whereas all the ones in Eastern PA were “Bob’s Bog Boy”). Don’t know more about the corporate structure, though.
