Big Boy is a restaurant chain started in 1936 by Bob Wian in Glendale, California as Bob's Big Boy. Marriott 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., the current company CEO, who renamed the company to Big Boy Restaurants International, and kept the headquarters in Warren, Michigan. The company is the franchiser for more than 455 Big Boy Restaurants in the United States and Canada. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Country United States State Michigan County Macomb County Incorporated 1957 Government  - Type Council-Strong Mayor  - Mayor Mark A. Steenbergh Area  - City  34. ... Bobs Big Boy mascot sign. ... A casual dining restaurant is a restaurant that serves moderately-priced food in a casual atmosphere. ... For other uses, see Restaurant (disambiguation). ... Look up slogan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos and other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML... A restaurant chain is a set of related restaurants, typically with the same name in many different locations either under shared corporate ownership (e. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Bobs Big Boy mascot sign. ... Nickname: Location of Glendale within Los Angeles County and the State of California. ... Marriott International, Inc. ... Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... Country United States State Michigan County Macomb County Incorporated 1957 Government  - Type Council-Strong Mayor  - Mayor Mark A. Steenbergh Area  - City  34. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... Country United States State Michigan County Macomb County Incorporated 1957 Government  - Type Council-Strong Mayor  - Mayor Mark A. Steenbergh Area  - City  34. ...

The chain is best-known for its trademark chubby boy in red and white with suspenders holding a double decker hamburger. The inspiration for Big Boy's name, as well as the model for its mascot was Richard Woodruff. When he was 6 years old, he walked into the diner as Bob Wian was attempting to name his new hamburger. Wian said "Hello Big Boy" to Woodruff, and the name stuck. Ben Washam sketched Woodruff's caricature, which became the character seen on the company logo. This character would eventually also be featured in a Big Boy comic book, produced as a promotional giveaway for children visiting the restaurant. This article is about the food item. ... Ben Washam (1915-1984) was an American animator who worked at Warner Bros. ... For the book of comics by Daniel Clowes see Caricature (Daniel Clowes collection) A caricature of film comedian Charlie Chaplin. ...

Besides its namesake Big Boy hamburger, the chain offers other burger combinations along with cakes and pies.

Regional franchises

This Big Boy Restaurant is in Chōfu, Tokyo, Japan.

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 now expanded into areas that used to be regional territory for another franchise holder, and the current Big Boy Restaurants International has been expanding its Bob's Big Boy name into territories formerly held by franchisees. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1500x954, 546 KB) Summary This Big Boy Restaurant is in Chofu, Tokyo, Japan. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1500x954, 546 KB) Summary This Big Boy Restaurant is in Chofu, Tokyo, Japan. ... Map of Tokyo with Chōfu highlighted Ajinomoto Stadium The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Jindai Botanical Garden in Chōfu is a popular public park. ...

Unlike most modern franchises, the various restaurants differed somewhat from one another in terms of price level and menu offerings.

• Abdow's (Massachusetts, Connecticut)
• Azar's (Northern Indiana, Colorado)
• Big Boy of Florida (Exclusive rights to the Central Florida territory was acquired by Irv Lichtenwald from 2006 through 2011 with the right to extend this franchise for 6 additional years)
• Bob's (California, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Northeastern Ohio, New York, New Jersey, as well as Indiana and Pennsylvania turnpike and airport locations operated in several states by the Marriott Corp.)
• Eat'n Park (metro Pittsburgh) dropped Big Boy in 1976.
• 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's et al.)
• Elias Brothers (Michigan, Northeastern Ohio, Ontario, Canada)

• Frisch's (Ohio, Kentucky, S. Indiana, Florida until the early 1990s) the Cincinnati restaurant chain and first franchisee, began serving Big Boy hamburgers in 1946; Frisch's now operates 88 Big Boys & franchises 32 Big Boys to others. They also franchise Golden Corrals in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky.
• JB's (Utah, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, Washington, New Mexico, Kansas, Rhode Island)
• JB's (Canada) (Ontario and Alberta in the 1970s)
• Kebo's (Seattle & Tacoma, Washington area)
• Kip's (Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas)
• Lendy's (Western Virginia)
• Mady's (Windsor, Ontario, Canada)
• Manners (Northeastern Ohio)
• Marc's (Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois) were owned by the Marcus Corporation. Some were sold, others were converted to Marc's Café and later Annie's American Café. Most now operate as Perkins.
• McDowell's (North Dakota)
• Shoney's (Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, southwestern Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina, West Virginia, Ohio, Missouri), founded by and named after Alex Schoenbaum, no longer displays the Big Boy Statue, because it dropped its relationship with Big Boy in order to expand to other states where others owned the trademark, in 1984. It was the second Big Boy franchisee and subfranchised to Elby's, Lendy's and Yoda's).
• TJ's (New York)
• Tops (Illinois)
• Vip's (New Mexico)
• Yoda's (Western Virginia)

Also, Big Boy Japan owns and operates 216 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). Eatn Park is a restaurant chain with locations in Western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and northern West Virginia. ... Frischs Big Boy is the last regional restaurant chain from the Big Boy franchise. ... Cincinnati, Ohio viewed from the SW, across the Ohio River from Kentucky. ... This article is about the food item. ... Marcus Corporation Logo Marcus Theatres Logo Marcus Hotels and Resorts Logo The Marcus Corporation was founded by Ben Marcus in 1935 with the opening of a single movie theatre in Ripon, Wisconsin. ... Perkins Restaurant and Bakery is a North American casual dining restaurant chain. ... Shoneys is a restaurant chain in the United States that had a franchise with the Big Boy chain. ... This article is about the year. ...

Notable locations

• Bob's Big Boy Restaurant of Burbank, California (est. 1949), oldest remaining Bob's Big Boy in America and a designated California Point of Historical Interest.

Image:Bobs-big-boy-34. ... California Points of Historical Interest are sites, buildings, features, or events that are of local (city or county) significance and have anthropological, cultural, military, political, architectural, economic, scientific or technical, religious, experimental, or other value. ...

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• Filmmaker David Lynch ate lunch at Bob's every day for seven years. He has said the combination of caffeine and sugar from the chocolate shakes and coffee he ordered gave him many ideas for his films. He also recently held a contest on his website where one fan could win a free meal at Bob's with him.^{[citation needed]}
• In the movie Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Dr. Evil and his cat Mr. Bigglesworth make their escape in a cryogenic rocket that is the shape of a statue of Big Boy. Additionally, an alternate ending to the film which was scrapped to allow for a sequel had the Big Boy rocket crash back to Earth due to a malfunction, with Dr. Evil suffering amnesia as a result and subsequently becoming the night manager of a Big Boy restaurant in El Segundo, California.
• Scenes from the 1980 cult classic film Midnight Madness were filmed at the Los Angeles coffee shop Johnie's, whose "Fat Boy" mascot is clearly modeled on Bob's. One character provides laughs by inadvertently duplicating the Big Boy pose.
• The same owners as above also installed their "Fat Boy" mascot at Johnie's Broiler in Downey, California.
• During his 2005 SMiLE tour, Brian Wilson remarked during his intro to the band's performance of the song Surfer Girl that, "This is the first song I wrote... I wrote in my car, without a piano, in a Big Boy parking lot."
• Syndicated radio personalities Rick and Bubba had a Big Boy statue outside their former studio, located on a mountain overlooking Birmingham, Alabama. In on-air and Internet promotions, the site was referred to as "Big Boy Bluff." (Ironically, such statues haven't been seen in Alabama for more than two decades because of Shoney's disaffiliation with the trademark.)
• In December of 1993, syndicated Los Angeles radio personalities Mark & Brian attempted to launch a (borrowed) Bob's Big Boy statue, painted with an Evel Knievel jumpsuit and dubbed "Elvis Bob", over the fountain at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip. The launch device was a spring tension contraption looking much like a green steel bedframe. The attempt fell about 10 feet short and into the water, sending Caesar's general manager into an obscenity-laced tirade, as Elvis Bob broke part of the fountain. "Elvis Bob" has been used over the years for various other events throughout the L.A. basin, repainted as Vegas Elvis, complete with chains and shades. [1]
• Big Boy was parodied by Frank Miller in his Give Me Liberty comic book series as the Fat Boy restaurant chain, a fast-food franchise that had grown so powerful that it was at war with the United States government.
• Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield, MI has a Big Boy Statue done in mosaic on display.
• In the Futurama episode "Leela's Homeworld," Leela, Fry & Bender are chased through the sewers past a "Big Mutant Boy" restaurant (featuring a mutated Big Boy-esque statue).
• The University School mascot Prescott the Prepper is based on the Big Boy logo.
• In the 1984 film The Terminator, Sarah Connor works at a fast food restaurant called "Big Buns," a possible homage to the Big Boy chain. As she chains up her motor scooter in the front of the building, there is a statue behind her which is nearly identical to the Big Boy statue seen in the front of real Big Boy restaurants, except the "Big Buns" character has blonde hair, instead of brown.
• The mascot Lard Lad from the Lard Lad Donuts from the animated series The Simpsons is clearly based on Big Boy.
• Big Boy is also parodied in the 7th issue of Johnny the Homicidal Maniac by Jhonen Vasquez.
• In an episode of Murphy Brown, Miles steals Murphy's life-sized restaurant mascot clearly modeled after Big Boy.

Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ... For other persons named David Lynch, see David Lynch (disambiguation). ... Caffeine is a xanthine alkaloid compound that acts as a stimulant in humans. ... Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, directed by Jay Roach, is the first film of the Austin Powers series. ... Dr. Evil is a fictional supervillain played by Mike Myers in the Austin Powers film series. ... Cryogenics is the study of very low temperatures or the production of the same, and is often confused with cryobiology, the study of the effect of low temperatures on organisms, or the study of cryopreservation. ... The El Segundo skyline, as seen from Sepulveda Boulevard (CA/SR-1) El Segundo is a city in Los Angeles County, California on the Santa Monica Bay, incorporated on January 18, 1917. ... The year 1980 in film involved some significant events. ... Midnight Madness is a 1980 cult comedy film from Walt Disney Productions, starring David Naughton. ... Johnies Broiler was a diner located in Downey, California until 2001. ... Location of Downey in Los Angeles County, California Coordinates: , Country State County Los Angeles Founded 1800s Incorporated 1956 Government  - Type Council-Manager government  - City Council David R. Gafin Mario A. Guerra Rick Trejo (Mayor) Anne Marie Bayer Kirk Cartozian Area  - City  12. ... Smile is a solo album by Brian Wilson, with lyrics by Van Dyke Parks. ... For other persons named Brian Wilson, see Brian Wilson (disambiguation). ... Surfer Girl was the third album officially released by The Beach Boys and their second longplayer in 1963. ... Rick Burgess and Bill Bubba Bussey are two syndicated comedic radio personalities and authors based in Birmingham, Alabama. ... Nickname: Location in Jefferson County in the state of Alabama Coordinates: , Country State County Jefferson, Shelby Government  - Mayor Bernard Kincaid (D) Area  - City  151. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Mark & Brian (Mark Thompson and Brian Phelps) are the hosts of The Mark & Brian Show, a nationally-syndicated weekday morning radio show which is broadcast from KLOS-FM in Los Angeles, California. ... Robert Craig Evel Knievel, Jr. ... Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada. ... The south end of The Strip; approximately one third of the entire Strip is represented here. ... Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American writer, artist and film director best known for his film noir-style comic book stories. ... Writing by Frank Miller Art by Dave Gibbons Story A young african-american girl from the ghetto struggles against impossible odds in near future, to save the United States wich had broken up into several extremist nations. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... The art museum and library of the Cranbrook Academy of Art, designed by world-renowned architect Eliel Saarinen. ... This article is about the television series. ... Leelas Homeworld is the second episode of Futuramas fourth season. ... For other uses, see University School (disambiguation). ... The Terminator (also known as Terminator in some early trailers and posters) is a 1984 science fiction/action film featuring former bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger in what would become his best-known role, and also starred Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn. ... Sarah Connor can mean: Sarah Connor (musician), a German pop music singer Sarah Connor (album), a CD by the German pop singer of the same name Sarah Connor (fictional character), a fictional character in the Terminator movies Category: ... Simpsons redirects here. ... Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. ... Jhonen Vasquez (born September 1, 1974), also known by his pseudonyms Mr. ... Murphy Brown was an Emmy Award-winning American situation comedy which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988 to May 18, 1998, for a total of 247 episodes. ...

References

• Hansen, Christian (2002). The Big Boy Story: "King of Them All". Haagen Printing. ISBN 0-9671943-6-9. 

• Grandberry, Nikki (2006), Altamont Springs Opens March 29, <http://www.bigboy.com/RestaurantImages/Altamonte%20Springs%20Opens%20March%2029.pdf>

External links

• Craig Yoe interviewed on history of The Adventures of Big Boy comic book