Bob's Big Boy

Bob Wian ownership

Bob Wian was a Glendale High School student when the Great Depression hit in 1929. After his father's furniture business went under, Wian washed dishes in the school cafeteria to afford lunch. He wasn't much for academics—never brought homework home—and his classmates voted him the least likely to succeed. That label, along with his father's bankruptcy, would fuel his later drive.

After graduating in 1933, he took a job as an overnight dishwasher at a White Log Coffee Shop in Los Angeles, a West Coast chain similar to White Castle. There, he grew curious about restaurant operations and improvements, vowing to own a restaurant or chain and prove his classmates wrong. He moved up to fry cook and manager, learning White Log's merchandising, pricing, and central commissary system—ideas he'd later use at Big Boy. He also picked up their pancake batter recipe.

At White Log, he befriended fellow fry cook Bennie Washam, who would later draw the original Big Boy mascot. Seeking broader experience, Wian quit and washed dishes at Lionel Sternberger's Rite Spot in Glendale, his favorite restaurant. He was promoted to counterman and fry cook. His boss there, Leonard Dunagan, would later become vice president of Bob's Big Boy.

Wian learned the Rite Spot's chili, hamburger, and red relish recipes—the same relish he'd use on the Big Boy burger—and the value of food consistency. The Rite Spot offered curb service, which Bob's Big Boy would later adopt. Wian's first drive-in job was at a Pig Stand, which used pig-shaped die-cut menus and big pig statues; Bob's would mirror this with Big Boy-shaped menus and statues. He also visited other restaurants for menu ideas, like copying the hot fudge sundae from C. C. Brown's Ice Cream Parlor.

Marriott ownership

In 1961, a merger was briefly explored with the John R. Thompson Co. Five years later another merger was proposed, and in May 1967, Big Boy was sold to the Marriott Corporation. The sale included Wian's 22 company-owned Bob's Big Boys and another 580 franchised Big Boy restaurants in 38 states. After the merger, Wian remained as president of Marriott's new Big Boy Restaurants of America division. He became overwhelmed with the chain's increasing size and unhappy with Marriott's focus on rapid growth and corporate profits.

Wian resigned as president in May 1968, and quit Marriott's board in summer 1969. Marriott began rapid expansion using the Bob's name, reaching 49 California Bob's by 1971 and 132 by 1979.

It bought the Ken's Big Boy franchise in the Washington, DC-Baltimore area in 1969 and JB's Big Boy's franchise in New Jersey in 1975, rebranding them as Bob's. In the mid-1970s Bob's Big Boy expanded into Alaska and Hawaii. Marriott bought the 39-unit Manners Big Boy chain in 1974, which may have been renamed Bob's Big Boy in 1979.

The 26 Cleveland-area restaurants were sold to Elias Brothers Big Boy in 1985. In 1985, JB's Big Boy paid $7 million for additional territory and purchased 29 existing Bob's Big Boy restaurants from Marriott. In 1988, JB's allowed its Big Boy franchise to expire, removing 110 units from the system.

Sauce and dressing retail business

Bob Wian launched the Specialty Products Division to create and sell salad dressings, relish, and seasoning salt under the Bob's Big Boy brand. Marriott Corporation later bought this division together with the restaurant chain. In June 1987, Marriott sold it to entrepreneur Kathy Taggares. She renamed the business K.T.'s Kitchens and kept producing items for both Big Boy restaurants and retail shelves.

Taggares made 10,000 gallons of dressing daily using natural ingredients and French cheeses. At that time, just 20% of her sales came from the 223 Big Boy locations. She raised the purchase money by selling her life insurance, condominium, and jewelry. In February 2019, the rights to Bob's Big Boy dressings and sauces were bought by The Flavor of California, a partnership based in Pasadena.

This company now produces Bleu Cheese, Thousand Island, Ranch Country, Roquefort, and Lite Bleu Cheese dressings, plus tartar and seafood sauces. The products, sold in one-pint glass jars with a mid-1950s logo and modified Big Boy mascot, are available at Target, Costco, Walmart, and supermarkets across 14 Western states.

Notable restaurants

The oldest surviving Bob's Big Boy in the U.S. is the one at 4211 Riverside Drive in Burbank, built in 1949. Architect Wayne McAllister designed it, mixing Streamline Moderne with hints of the coming 1950s coffee shop look. The building has a curved glass front, big overhanging roofs, and a tall sign that stands out. It was originally a drive-in with carhops, but now has a drive-thru; carhop service returns on weekends, and a classic car show happens weekly in the lot.

In 1993, it became a California Point of Historical Interest. Regulars once included Bob Hope, Mickey Rooney, Debbie Reynolds, and Jonathan Winters. The Beatles ate there during their 1965 U.S. tour, and a frequently stolen plaque marks their booth. Known as Bob's #6, the restaurant's design helped make McAllister's name.

Did You Know?

• Wian sold his 1933 DeSoto Roadster for $300 to make the down payment on the 10-stool hamburger stand that became Bob's Pantry.
• In June 1987, entrepreneur Kathy Taggares bought the Bob's Big Boy dressing and sauce business by selling her life insurance, condominium, and jewelry.