The Super Big Boy Double Deck Cheeseburger, once called "a meal in one on a double-deck bun," now promises "double the cheese and almost double the beef of The 1936 Original on a grilled sesame seed bun, shredded lettuce, and our famous sauce."
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Big Boy Burgers and Shakes, a "slimmer, fast casual" version of a Cleveland favorite, celebrates the grand opening of its Mayfield Heights restaurant at 1 p.m. today with a ribbon-cutting by city officials, its namesake double-decker burger, and an appearance by the Big Boy himself.
The Super Big Boy Double Deck Cheeseburger, once called "a meal in one on a double-deck bun," now promises "double the cheese and almost double the beef of The 1936 Original on a grilled sesame seed bun, shredded lettuce, and our famous sauce."
Big Boy Burgers and Shakes quietly opened at 1288 SOM Center Road in SOM Center Plaza several weeks ago as it practiced for today's opening. It will remain open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
The restaurant employs 35 people, and its owners are already planning future locations in Avon and Strongsville.
Big Boy Restaurants also has locations with an expanded menu at 12920 Brookpark Road in Cleveland, and at 7800 Granger Road in Valley View.
Big Boy Restaurants International LLC, based in Warren, Michigan, was opened by Bob Wian as "Bob's Pantry" in Glendale, California, in 1936.
The restaurant became known as "Bob's, home of the Big Boy Hamburger," then as "Bob's Big Boy." It was a local hamburger chain and then a national one.
In Cleveland, Bob Manners opened the area's first 24-hour drive-in around the corner from Euclid Beach Park on Lake Shore Boulevard in 1938, according to the Plain Dealer's files. Manners, famed for its Diamond Jim ham-and-cheese, onion rings, shakes and strawberry pie, expanded to 38 restaurants before Marriott bought the company in 1967.
Franchisee Elias Brothers bought the company from Marriott in 1987, and moved the headquarters to Warren, Michigan.
The chain filed for bankruptcy in 2000, then was sold to investor Robert Liggett Jr., who took over as chairman and renamed it "Big Boy Restaurants International." The company now operates or franchises 93 locations in the U.S., as well as 279 Big Boy restaurants in Japan.
One of the franchise operators, Frisch's Restaurants of Cincinnati, bought the Big Boy trademarks in Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, and most of Ohio, while the other locations remained with Liggett. Frisch's operates 95 Big Boy restaurants and franchises 26 Big Boys.
On Aug. 15, 2015, Frisch's was bought by an Atlanta-based private equity fund, ending its years as a family-owned and operated chain.
