Pauil Kept Telling Dad "Let's Get A Hamburger"
Car Hops Were Hot
A carhop is a waiter or waitress (often) on rollerskates who brings food to people in their cars. Carhops originated in the 1950s when drive-in eateries were popular. Now carhops are only featured at a few remaining original drive-in hotdog stands such as Superdawg, located in Chicago, Illinois, or White Spot of Canada, and nostalgic fast food establishments such as Sonic Drive-In. On occasion, Dog n Suds' waitresses will wear roller skates.
The first drive-in is believed to be the Pig Stand in Dallas, TX which opened in 1921. The founder's philosophy was "people with cars are so lazy that they don’t want to get out of them to eat." Pig Stands had car hops - young men wearing white caps, white shirts and black bow ties. I remember going to the drive-in with Mom and Dad and then with a date. It seems the hamburgers and malts were always better when they were served on roller skates!
Bob's Was Popular In LA Circa 1955
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.
