Big Boy's Restaurant (Demolished)
St. Louis, MO Photo courtesy Don Gardner
Now here’s a roadside character that was hard to miss. The Big Boy's Restaurant near St. Louis featured this grinning, buck-toothed fellow dressed in a tuxedo and proudly carrying a platter of food. With a sign like that out front, you pretty much knew dinner was waiting inside.
Despite the name, this wasn't part of the familiar Bob's Big Boy chain. This was an independent restaurant in Wright City, about 50 miles west of St. Louis, with roots going back to 1924. A new restaurant opened along busy U.S. Route 40 in 1948, where it became a popular stop for travelers heading across Missouri.
The specialty was family-style fried chicken, served with rolls, cornbread, ham and homemade applesauce. Diners gathered around long communal tables, and the place became well known enough that New York Times food writer Craig Claiborne stopped by and praised it in 1965.
Unfortunately, the chicken eventually stopped frying. Big Boy's closed in 2005 and the old restaurant was demolished in 2011.
UPDATE: The restaurant and its wonderful roadside character are both gone today. The fate of the grinning Big Boy sign remains unknown, but he certainly made for one memorable invitation to pull off the highway and grab some dinner. 08-26
Frisch's Big Boy
Springfield, OH Photo courtesy Mike Austing
You know you're in Big Boy country when the familiar guy with the checkered overalls is standing out front holding that double-decker hamburger. This Frisch's Big Boy sits on the eastern edge of Springfield, Ohio, complete with its own Big Boy keeping watch over the parking lot.
Frisch's has been serving up Big Boys since 1947, becoming a familiar roadside sight throughout Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. And unlike the independent Big Boy's restaurant near St. Louis, this is the real deal, complete with the famous hamburger, Frisch's tartar sauce and that smiling fiberglass fellow out front.
The East Main Street location has been around for decades and still has some of that older Big Boy flavor. Pulling into a place like this was once just part of the road trip, especially when the Big Boy statue was waiting by the entrance to let you know you had found the right place. And he's still standing there today.
UPDATE: While quite a few Frisch's locations have disappeared in recent years, the East Main Street restaurant survived the company's wave of closures and remains open. Springfield's other Frisch's on North Bechtle Avenue has since closed, leaving this as the city's remaining Big Boy stop. Better grab a picture with the big guy while you're there. 08-26
Elias Brothers Big Boy (Demolished)
Livonia, MI Photo courtesy Mark Hackett
The Elias Brothers Big Boy on Plymouth Road had one of the nicest Big Boy marquees in Michigan. The classic sign was impossible to miss and perfectly captured the look of the Elias Brothers era, when Big Boy restaurants were a fixture across the Midwest. If you're a fan of vintage coffee shops and roadside architecture, this was one worth seeking out. 04-01
Elias Brothers started its Michigan Big Boy operation in 1952 and soon became a familiar sight around Detroit. This Plymouth Road location fit right into Motor City territory, where pulling up in the car was half the fun.
One neat survivor was the little "Curb Service" sign near the entrance. It remained long after the carhops disappeared and was reportedly one of the last old Elias Brothers curb-service markers still standing.
Unfortunately, the old restaurant eventually disappeared too.
UPDATE: The Livonia Big Boy is still going
strong, and has been for possibly for over 40 years. They finally renovated the place with
more of a retro theme. There is even a mural on the wall featuring a newer
more up to date Big Boy character, over weight, bare chested, wearing
baggy red and white checked overalls. The Big Boy perched on the sign
is still there as well. I think that you can still dine while in your
car at the Drive-in portion of the restaurant. Lots of Great memories
still being had there! Many thanks to Danny Marderosian for above update. 07-04
Unfortunately, the restaurant closed in early 2014, bringing an end to one of Livonia's best-known Big Boy locations. The vintage marquee was removed along with the last surviving Elias Brothers drive-in entrance sign, whose whereabouts remain unknown. Whether they were preserved or scrapped has never been confirmed.
UPDATE: The Plymouth Road Big Boy was demolished and the property redeveloped. The original statue and main signage are gone, and the fate of the little "Curb Service" sign remains uncertain. No more burgers delivered to the car at this old Livonia stop. 08-26
Frisch's Big Boy (Gone)
Columbus, OH Photo courtesy Dirk Burhans
Now that's a Big Boy sign. This Frisch's Big Boy in Columbus had one of those huge roadside marquees that could probably be spotted before you even started thinking about lunch.
Frisch's was once a familiar sight around Columbus, serving up Big Boy hamburgers, onion rings and that famous tartar sauce. But for RoadsidePeek purposes, the real attraction here was outside. That towering sign with the familiar Big Boy name was pure roadside advertising, built big enough to grab the attention of passing motorists.
At the time of this shot, the restaurant was still open and the big marquee was doing exactly what it was supposed to do. Unfortunately, those days didn't last.
UPDATE: Frisch's has since disappeared from Columbus, with its remaining locations in the area closing during the chain's recent downsizing. The giant marquee seen here is gone as well. Another big piece of roadside Big Boy country has disappeared from the Columbus landscape. 08-26
Elias Brothers Big Boy (Gone)
Alma, MI Photo courtesy Brian Beery
Here's an Elias Brothers Big Boy in Alma, Michigan. This sign
is visible from the freeway and has been a landmark for northbound and
southbound travelers for several decades. Many thanks to Brian Beery for info.
Heading along US-127 near Alma, this Elias Brothers Big Boy was pretty hard to miss. That tall roadside sign put Big Boy high above the highway, smiling down at passing motorists with hamburger in hand.
For years this was a familiar Michigan roadside stop, the kind of place where you could pull off the highway, grab a Big Boy and fries, and be back on the road. And with a sign this tall, finding the place certainly wasn't a problem.
The restaurant closed around 2017 and briefly became Piper's Grill and Brew before going vacant.
UPDATE: The old restaurant has since been demolished and the property is now being offered for redevelopment. The towering Big Boy sign that once greeted travelers along US-127 is gone too. 08-26
Frisch's Big Boy (Closed)
Lancaster, OH Photo courtesy Dirk Burhans
Welcome to the world famous Frisch's Big Boy of Lancaster, OH. Sporting a very active Big Boy out front, this burger location was once a "must see" for all you prospective Ohio visitors. Unfortunately, as time changes, great restaurants change too. The word is that Frisch's relocated in 1992, and this original location was converted to a sports bar. The new Frisch's is located about 1/2 mile away in ... you guessed it ... a mall! How grand!
Frisch's had been part of Lancaster since the 1960s, making Big Boy a familiar sight around town for generations. Whether you actually stopped for a burger or just grabbed a picture with the big guy, this was one of those classic roadside chain stops that made traveling around Ohio a little more interesting.
Unfortunately, Lancaster's long run with Big Boy has come to an end.
UPDATE : Unfortunately, as time changes, great
restaurants change too. The word is that Frisch's relocated in 1992, and
this original location was converted to a sports bar. The new Frisch's
is located about 1/2 mile away in ... you guessed it ... a mall! How grand!
UPDATE: The Lancaster Frisch's closed for good on November 3, 2024, ending nearly six decades of Big Boy in town. The fate of the familiar Big Boy statue seen here is uncertain. So much for that "must see" stop on the Lancaster tour. 08-26
Bob's Big Boy (Gone)
Harrisburg, PA Photo courtesy Dirk Burhans
Although this Bob's Big Boy is not of true vintage lineage, the restaurant sports a very pleasant Big Boy out front to welcome diners. Quite possibly built in the 1980's from the looks of things. Worth a jaunt over to Harrisburg, PA if you're in the area.
Big Boy had quite a presence around Harrisburg. One location on Jonestown Road opened in 1970, and by the 1970s and '80s there were restaurants scattered around the area including Camp Hill, Mechanicsburg, Colonial Park and New Cumberland. Many were operated by the local Davenport restaurant organization.
The building pictured here looks more like the later Big Boy era, with plenty of parking, a big roadside sign and, of course, that smiling fiberglass fellow stationed out front. By then Big Boy was already a familiar sight along American highways, so seeing one of these guys through the windshield usually meant burgers, fries and maybe a hot fudge cake weren't far away.
The Harrisburg-area restaurants eventually disappeared during the changing restaurant landscape of the early 1990s. The Big Boy signs and statues went with them, leaving photos like this as reminders of when the big guy was a fairly common roadside companion around central Pennsylvania.
UPDATE: The Harrisburg-area Bob's Big Boy restaurants are long gone, with the former locations either remodeled, repurposed or redeveloped over the years. No word on where this particular smiling Big Boy ended up. 08-26
Big Boy's Restaurant (Demolished)
Wright City, MO Photo courtesy Dirk Burhans
This Big Boy's Restaurant of Wright City, MO dates back to 1924
and is not a "true" Big Boy of Bob Wian heritage (predates the
Big Boy franchise/chain by 12 years). This restaurant is located off the
I-70 and is well known throughout the land for its fried chicken! Of course, the locals and most roadside travelers have noticed that the
good ol' Big Boy statue is missing out front. Instead, a huge hungry diner
stands atop the marquee with some type of grub on a plate... perhaps the
famous fried chicken? After much debate about whether this classic Big
Boy's belongs on a Big Boy page, well you probably see the conclusion... 01-00
Cruising west from St. Louis along old Highway 40, Big Boy's Restaurant was one of those places that could make a hungry traveler hit the brakes. And despite the name, this Big Boy had nothing to do with Bob Wian, double-decker hamburgers or the kid in the checkered overalls. Wright City's Big Boy was already feeding travelers in 1924, a dozen years before Bob's Big Boy came along.
The story apparently began over breakfast. J.W. "Big Boy" Chaney and his family were passing through Wright City on June 7, 1924 when they stopped at the little Silver Moon for ham and eggs. Chaney liked the town enough that he asked the owner if he'd sell the place. A deal was struck that morning, and by lunchtime the Chaney family was reportedly behind the counter serving customers. That's one way to change careers before noon.
Another Shot of Big Boy's Restaurant
Wright City, MO Photo courtesy Jason Carlton
Chaney weighed around 275 pounds and was already known as "Big Boy," so the Silver Moon soon became Big Boy's Restaurant. His philosophy was pretty simple: feed hungry people plenty of food. Fried chicken became the specialty, served family style with all the trimmings and more chicken when the platter ran low. Early advertising even carried the motto "Satisfy the Hungry Customer."
As Highway 40 brought more traffic through town, Big Boy's grew right along with it. The familiar roadside location opened in 1948 with parking for around 200 cars. At its peak, the restaurant was going through as many as 50,000 chickens a year. On busy summer Sundays in the 1940s, hundreds of people might stop in, and by the mid-1960s the restaurant was reportedly serving around 1,000 chickens on a Sunday alone.
Inside was another little piece of the experience. Long tables seated ten people, and smaller parties didn't necessarily get a table to themselves. You simply sat down alongside whoever was already there. A road trip could get you fried chicken, cornbread and a conversation with somebody you'd never met before.
Another Shot of Big Boy's Restaurant
Wright City, MO Photo courtesy Jason Carlton
The place even caught the attention of New York Times food writer Craig Claiborne, who stopped while traveling through Missouri in 1965 and came away impressed by the enormous spread of chicken, vegetables, applesauce, cornbread and hot rolls. Big Boy's had become enough of a destination that people were known to make the roughly 50-mile drive from St. Louis just to eat there.
So does an independent fried chicken restaurant that predates Bob's Big Boy really belong on a Big Boy page? With a name like Big Boy's and a giant guy holding dinner over the highway, we'll make an exception.
UPDATE: Big Boy's closed in 2005 after more than 80 years of feeding travelers, and the old restaurant was later demolished. The famous hungry diner from the roadside sign had already disappeared by the time the property contents were sold in 2011, and even local officials weren't sure what became of him. One piece of the restaurant's history did survive: the old Big Boy's imagery and other memorabilia have continued to be remembered and preserved locally, and Wright City even held a centennial celebration dinner in 2024 featuring fried chicken and the familiar side dishes once served at the restaurant. 08-26
Elby's
Big Boy (Closed)
Marietta OH Photo courtesy Dirk Burhans
Another of the classic style of Big Boy restaurants is this Elby's
Big Boy in Marietta, Ohio. From the Big Boy standing near the sidewalk,
beaming to passersby, to the marquee, this Big Boy could pass for any
other of the Big Boy chain, especially on the west coast. Elby's covers West Virginia and Pennsylvania, and just into eastern Ohio.
They were originally based in Wheeling WV but about a decade ago were
purchased by Elias Bros (they decided to keep them as Elby's rather than
changing to the Elias Bros name). Many thanks to Bob Thomas for the above information. 01-00
Elby's got its start across the Ohio River in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1956 and soon became a familiar name around the Ohio Valley. The Marietta location was part of the chain's expansion into eastern Ohio. Interestingly, Elby's had a complicated relationship with the Big Boy name. A falling out with Frisch's in 1971 forced Elby's to drop the Big Boy name at its Ohio restaurants for a time. Big Boy eventually returned after Michigan-based Elias Brothers bought the Elby's chain in 1988.
Of course, the roadside attraction here is that beaming Big Boy standing out front with hamburger in hand. These guys were once common sights along the highway. Nowadays, seeing one is enough reason to turn around for another look.
UPDATE: Elby's eventually closed and the Big Boy statue and original signs disappeared. The old restaurant building survived and was remodeled into the Empire Buffet Chinese restaurant. 08-26
Frisch's Mainliner (Gone)
Cincinnati, OH Photo courtesy Paul Bauke
That airplane coming out of the sign tells you this isn't just another hamburger stop. Frisch's Mainliner opened along Wooster Pike in 1939 and became one of Cincinnati's great roadside restaurants, complete with a spectacular neon sign that was almost as famous as the Big Boy himself.
The Mainliner was Cincinnati's first year-round drive-in restaurant and was named for the tri-motor passenger planes flying out of nearby Lunken Airport. Dave Frisch later began serving his version of the double-decker Big Boy hamburger here, helping set the stage for his 1947 agreement with Bob Wian and the growth of Frisch's Big Boy throughout the region.
But it's that sign that really makes this place worth a roadside stop. A streamlined airplane appears to fly right out of the top, complete with a trail of lights behind it. Burgers and airplanes. That's some pretty good roadside advertising. The Mainliner stayed in business for an amazing 85 years, becoming something of a Cincinnati institution along the way.
UPDATE: The Mainliner closed for good on December 22, 2024. Fortunately, the airplane sign didn't disappear with it. The sign was removed later that month and saved by the American Sign Museum, where it has undergone restoration, including bringing back the airplane's original animated lighting. At least this old Mainliner gets to keep flying. 08-26
Frisch's Big Boy (Gone)
Milford, OH Photo courtesy Paul Bauke
You couldn't miss Frisch's Big Boy while cruising through Milford. The big roadside marquee rose above Lila Avenue, while down closer to the pavement Big Boy himself appeared to be scampering away with that famous double-decker burger. 09-02
This was the kind of Frisch's that still had plenty of roadside personality. The tall sign, familiar script and fiberglass Big Boy made the parking lot look more like a classic hamburger stop than another modern chain restaurant. For generations of Milford locals, it was also a familiar gathering place after school, football games or just an evening cruise around town.
Frisch's connection to the Big Boy goes all the way back to 1947, when Cincinnati restaurateur Dave Frisch became one of the earliest Big Boy franchise operators. The familiar Big Boy character soon became part of the roadside landscape throughout Ohio, usually standing out front with that oversized hamburger and permanent grin.
Frisch's Big Boy
Milford, OH Photo courtesy Paul Bauke
And that running Big Boy in Milford is worth another look. Rather than simply standing there holding the burger, this version looks like he's actually making a break for it. Maybe somebody forgot to pay the check.
UPDATE: The Lila Avenue Frisch's eventually lost its Big Boy. The restaurant closed during the major wave of Frisch's shutdowns that swept through the Cincinnati area in late 2024, and the familiar roadside branding was removed. Another little piece of the old Frisch's landscape disappeared with it. 08-26
Big Boy (Gone)
Belpre, OH Photo courtesy Dirk Burhans
This Big Boy in Belpre, Ohio just
sports the familiar red and white Big Boy signage, letting travelers know there was a Big Boy waiting along the main commercial strip. No towering neon spectacle or giant Big Boy out front, but sometimes the name on the sign was all you needed. 09-02
Word is that this location stood along Washington Boulevard, the busy Route 7 corridor running through Belpre and toward the bridges into Parkersburg, West Virginia. It was originally part of Elby's Big Boy, the Wheeling-based chain that was once a familiar sight throughout the Ohio Valley. Elby's later became part of Elias Brothers, so the Big Boy name managed to hang around here even as the corporate names behind it changed.
By the time of this view, the restaurant had the more basic red-and-white Big Boy signage rather than the elaborate roadside marquees seen at some of the older locations. Still, there was no mistaking that familiar Big Boy lettering from the road.
UPDATE: The Belpre Big Boy eventually closed and the familiar roadside signage shown here was removed. There is no longer a Big Boy operating in Belpre, leaving this another vanished piece of the old Ohio Valley Big Boy trail. 08-26
Big Boy East logo and Frisch's, Harrisburg, and Marietta photo touch ups
courtesy Bob Thomas
Big Boy is a trademark of Big Boy Restaurants International
Big Boy's Restaurant (Demolished)
Frisch's Big Boy
Elias Brothers Big Boy (Demolished)
Frisch's Big Boy (Gone)
Elias Brothers Big Boy (Gone)
Frisch's Big Boy (Closed)
Bob's Big Boy (Gone)
Big Boy's Restaurant (Demolished)
Another Shot of Big Boy's Restaurant
Another Shot of Big Boy's Restaurant
Elby's
Big Boy (Closed)
Frisch's Mainliner (Gone)
Frisch's Big Boy (Gone)
Frisch's Big Boy
Big Boy (Gone)
