| Type | Restaurant |
|---|---|
| Industry | Casual dining restaurant |
| Founded | 1936 |
| Headquarters | Warren, Michigan, U.S. |
| Key people | Bob Wian, Founder Robert Liggett, Jr. Keith E. Sirois, CEO |
| Website | bigboy.com |
Big Boy is a restaurant chain with its headquarters in Warren, Michigan.[1]
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.
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The chain is best known for its trademark chubby boy in red- and white-checked overalls holding a Big Boy sandwich (double-decker cheeseburger). 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).[4]
In addition, Big Boy established @burger, a new concept casual dining restaurant in Ann Arbor, Michigan.