This is an exceptional and Very RARE Vintage 1960s FRISCHS Bob’s BIG BOY Burger Advertisement SIGNS Lot (5), Screenprinted on Cardstock, with four of these early signs being from Frisch’s Big Boy, an early East Coast franchisee of Bob Wian’s Bob’s Big Boy, and one double-sided menu sign from Eat’n Park, which is another early East Coast franchisee of Bob Wian’s Bob’s Big Boy. Federally Inspected meats at Frisch’s Sign, dated September 1968 (14 x 28), and a double-sided menu from an early Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s Eat’n Park, which dates to the 1960’s 12 1/4 x 24 inches. All of these signs are exceedingly rare , and cannot be found online anywhere, aside from regional museum collections and serious private collections. These signs are in good overall condition for decades of age and storage, with moderate edge wear, small tears, scuffing, scratches, soiling, and speckles of discoloration etc. It is a miracle that they survived at all, given the ephemeral nature of these antique fast-food items please see all photos carefully. If you are a Big Boy memorabilia collector, you will clearly understand the rarity and historical significance of these pieces. Acquired from a private collection in Los Angeles County, California. If you like what you see, I encourage you to make an Offer. Please check out my other listings for more wonderful and unique artworks! Frisch’s Big Boy is a regional Big Boy. Restaurant chain with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, with offices in Cincinnati, Ohio. As of March 2025, the company claims to operate 31 locations in Indiana. This includes or included multiple Big Boy stores in and around Cincinnati OH, Dayton OH, Columbus OH, Toledo OH, Lexington KY, and Louisville KY. The corporate entities that currently own Frisch’s are FBB IP LLC, FRM Management LLC, and FRM Holding Company LLC, and formerly Frisch’s Restaurants Inc. Frisch’s is the oldest, longest surviving, and smallest (formerly largest prior to evictions) regional Big Boy operator, excluding Bob’s Big Boy. In California, which was the original Big Boy restaurant and franchiser. The last new Frisch’s opened in the Northern Kentucky International Airport in 2023. In 2015, Frisch’s entered a sale and leaseback. Agreement of company owned locations. When Frisch’s was unable to make full lease payments in 2024, the company was evicted from most stores. Frisch’s also previously owned numerous Golden Corral. Restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania. The Big Boy served at Frisch’s is slightly different than those at other Big Boy restaurants. Where Bob Wian dressed Big Boy hamburgers with mayonnaise. Frisch later replaced these with tartar sauce. And added dill pickles in his version and applied these in a different order. Early Frisch’s menus show that he used tartar sauce on hamburgers and cheeseburgers, but mayonnaise on his Big Boy hamburgers. Frisch’s licensee Manners Big Boy used a different tartar sauce called “white sauce” and placed the pickles above the top patty. The use of tartar sauce on Frisch’s Big Boy hamburgers wasn’t simply a matter of taste. Frisch recognized the use of a single combined condiment was simpler and faster. Later the Big Boy system adopted the idea, using the combined form of red relish and mayonnaise, commonly known as thousand island dressing. On Big Boy hamburgers. In earlier years, Frisch’s adaptation of the Big Boy caricature was slimmer, had blond hair topped with a cook’s cap, cartoon-like eyes, slightly cherubic facial features, and wore striped pants instead of the traditional checkered bib overall-type pants used by Bob’s Big Boy. In the late 1960s both characters were redrawn incorporating common elements such as checkered pants and brown hair. This Frisch’s Big Boy graphic was drawn with the pompadour and lost the cook’s cap but otherwise the facial features remain the same as in the 1950s. This allowed Frisch’s existing fiberglass statues to continue in use, with hair and overalls repainted. It is the typical statue displayed at Frisch’s today, though several units use the West Coast Bob’s Big Boy statue. In 2016 and 2017 a new design and statue were introduced. Through the 1970s, Frisch’s personalized the Big Boy slogan, “Frisch’s Has So Much More” similarly adapting it for the Frisch’s owned, Kip’s Big Boy restaurant chain in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. In the mid-1980s, Marriott planned to retire the Big Boy character. As a publicity scheme, Marriott launched a Should Big Boy Stay or Go? Customers overwhelmingly voted that Big Boy should stay. Slogan’s used by Frisch’s included, but were not limited to. “Frisch’s Has So Much More” (1970s; Big Boy chain slogan). Gotta be Frisch’s Big Boy! Oh what a value! “Nobody takes care of you like Big Boy” (1980s; Big Boy chain slogan). “Frisch’s starts with better stuff” (1990s). What’s Your Favorite Thing? Used on renovated restaurant signs. Home of Burgers, Breakfast, & Big Boy. “Legends Can’t Be Imitated”2025-present. Used as a response to Dolly’s. A classic Frisch’s jingle used on both Radio & TV in the 1960s went. Stop and enjoy a big Big Boy. A double-deck hamburger treat. A national favorite, coast to coast. So stop and enjoy a big Big Boy. For several decades, Frisch’s has had a business relationship with the Cincinnati Reds baseball organization. From 1983 to 1998, Frisch’s was a part owner of the ball club as a silent partner. To majority owner Marge Schott. Including during the team’s World Series win in 1990. Two Frisch’s Big Boy concession stands opened in 2013 at Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park. An East Coast Big Boy statue repainted with a Cincinnati Reds. Uniform was placed near one stand, and in March 2017, the first of the redesigned Frisch’s statues. Likewise in Reds uniform, was added. In 1905, Samuel Frisch opened the Frisch Cafe in Cincinnati. Five years later he closed the café and moved to the Norwood. Suburb of Cincinnati soon opening another café there. Success brought a new building in 1915 for the restaurant then known as Frisch’s Stag Lunch. When the elder Frisch died in 1923, three of his sons, David, Reuben and Irving, continued operating the cafe; twenty-year-old Dave took his father’s lead role. Frisch’s Café was a success and in 1938 a second location opened, this one across from the Stag Lunch in Norwood. However, Frisch couldn’t meet expenses of the Norwood restaurant and facing bankruptcy, both cafés closed in 1938. In 1939 the Mainliner opened on Wooster Pike. Cincinnati’s first year-round drive-in. Restaurant, it was named after a passenger airplane that flew into nearby Lunken Airport. By 1944 a second Frisch’s restaurant opened, designed to resemble George Washington’s Mount Vernon. Becoming a Big Boy franchise. Immediately after World War II, Dave Frisch visited one of Bob Wian. S Big Boy restaurants in California. Although he was unable to meet Wian, Frisch was impressed with the double-deck Big Boy hamburger and recognized the efficiency of two thinner beef patties cooking faster than a single thicker patty. Unknown to Dave Frisch, Bob Wian was disturbed by drive-in operators outside California using the Big Boy name and hamburger without permission. Protection, Wian needed his Big Boy restaurants to operate in other regions of the U. When the two men later met, Wian offered Frisch a sweetheart deal. The territory included the Cincinnati tri-state region of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana and added Florida to increase Big Boy’s national span. Frisch accepted and became the first Big Boy franchisee. Being the first franchisee, an ad hoc. Arrangement allowed Dave Frisch unique freedoms. His double-deck Big Boy hamburger. Was slightly different than Wian’s. Dave Frisch also created his own Big Boy character: a thinner boy with reddish or blond hair, wearing striped rather than checkered overalls, presented in a running or skipping pose. Known as the East Coast Big Boy, this mark represented Frisch’s and its licensees Manners and Azar’s through 1969. Most Frisch’s Big Boy restaurants still display statues from this design, albeit usually repainted with brown hair and checkered overalls. In 2017 a redesigned statue. Resembling the West Coast Big Boy was introduced. After forging a licensing agreement with Bob Wian in 1947, the first Frisch’s Big Boy Drive-In restaurant, Big Boy One, opened on Central Parkway north of downtown Cincinnati. David Frisch opened three more Big Boy Drive-In Restaurants in 1949 – including the first in Kentucky – and opened his fifth drive-in the following year. By 1954 Frisch’s operated 20 units in Greater Cincinnati and was subfranchising Big Boys elsewhere. In 1953 and 1954 Frisch’s subfranchised Azar’s Big Boy in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and Manners Big Boy in the Cleveland, Ohio TV market. In 1955, Frisch’s subfranchised northwest Ohio to Toledo brothers Milton and David Bennett, to operate under the Frisch’s Big Boy name. By the fall of 1961 upwards of 150 drive-ins were in service by Frisch’s and its franchisees. Around 1956, Frisch’s opened 2 locations in Louisville. None of these locations remain today. One was close to the Dixie Drive In (now a Mazda/VW dealership), the other in Saint Matthews (now a Mike’s Car Wash). The next year, they opened one near Rubbertown, (now a mobile home park) and in 1958, one opened near Jeffersontown (now a family center). In 1960, 1966 and 1969 Frisch’s licensed three Elby’s Big Boys in the upper Ohio Valley area of Ohio. In response, Elby’s cancelled all ties to Frisch’s and operated independently of Big Boy in Ohio, including in direct competition to Frisch’s in the Columbus market. Protracted litigation followed as Frisch’s sued Elby’s and eventually Shoney’s for operating non-Big Boy restaurants in Frisch’s Big Boy territory, while operating Big Boys in neighboring states. Overall, the lawsuits were unsuccessful and both Elby’s and Shoney’s dropped Big Boy affiliation completely in 1984. Frisch’s released its branded tartar sauce to local grocery stores in 1960. The Food Specalities company is the sole owner of the tartar sauce’s secret recipe, although not the branded Frisch’s name. Frisch’s faced competition from numerous restaurants, both national and local. The Cincinnati McDonald’s. Restaurants introduced the Filet-O-Fish. In 1963 in an aggressive campaign against Frisch’s. David Frisch died in 1970, and his son-in law, Jack C. Maier was elected president and chairman of the board. When Maier retired in 1989, his son Craig F. Maier became president and CEO. In 1983, Frisch’s introduced drive-thru. Service at many restaurants, although carhops. Were retained at a few Cincinnati locations. It added the soup and salad bar as well, as well as many other Big Boy chains. Frisch’s ended Kip’s operations in 1991. Influence on other franchisees. Larry Hatch, founder of Eat’n Park. Restaurants in Pittsburgh, observed the Frisch’s drive-in operation in 1948 in Cincinnati. Hatch was very impressed and quickly contacted Bob Wian about opening a Big Boy drive-in in Pittsburgh; Eat’n Park opened in 1949 as the second Big Boy franchisee. Eat’n Park chose not to renew its Big Boy franchise agreement in 1975. Founder of Shoney’s. (originally known as Parkette Drive-In) became close friends with Dave Frisch. Frisch prompted Schoenbaum to become the Big Boy franchisee for West Virginia and introduced him to Bob Wian. The original artwork for the Parkette used the Frisch “East Coast” Big Boy character, and print advertisements for Parkette would switch off, using both designs through 1954. Shoney’s eventually grew into Frisch’s territorial boundaries causing Shoney’s to drop Big Boy affiliation in 1984. Both Eat’n Park and Shoney’s, early Big Boy franchisees, continue in operation today. Frisch’s created the “Brawny Lad” and “Swiss Miss” sandwiches which were added to the menus of most other Big Boy franchisees. The chopped sirloin sandwiches are distinctive for being served on rye buns. Frisch’s “Filet de Sole” fish sandwich was also widely adopted by other Big Boy franchises. Where Bob Wian called a sandwich with french fries and salad item a “combination plate”, Frisch’s began calling it a “platter” such as a Big Boy Platter, followed by several other Big Boy chains. The bankruptcy threatened Frisch’s right to operate and franchise Big Boy restaurants but was forever resolved by the separation. They also remodeled, demolished, or completely rebuilt older units by 2000. Frisch’s was known for its “cherry” and “vanilla” Coke. But switched to Pepsi. Products in December 2013. Frisch’s cited a better deal from Pepsi, and deemed taste tests adding the same vanilla and cherry flavorings to fountain Pepsi acceptable. However, the change stirred numerous protests at Frisch’s Facebook. Page from customers unhappy with the loss of Coke. Frisch’s noted that Toledo area franchised stores have served Pepsi for “a number of years”. Big Boy Restaurants International. Previously switched from Coke to Pepsi in 2001, similarly citing a “great, interesting proposal” by Pepsi. Frisch’s new owners were aware of the controversy, and in June 2018, CEO Jason Vaughn announced that Coca-Cola was returning to Frisch’s Big Boy restaurants by September. Coca-Cola reappeared at Frisch’s Mainliner restaurant on July 27, 2018, with other stores very shortly after. All stores now carry Coke products. Cincinnati Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart. The new owner, an affiliate of National Restaurant Development (NRD) Partners. On September 4, 2015, Frisch’s Restaurants, Inc. Ceased to be a. Aziz Hashim, CEO of NRD Partners, assumed Craig Maier’s position as Frisch’s president. In April 2016, Jason Vaughn was hired as CEO. This was not the first dealing between the two organizations. In 2012, Frisch’s. Golden Corral blocked the sale and repurchased the units instead. The sale ended family operation and ownership of the Frisch’s restaurant chain. Craig Maier, CEO and his sister Karen Maier, vice president of marketing, grandchildren of founder David Frisch, retired from the company. However, both remain active as franchisees, operating individual Frisch’s Big Boy Restaurants. Other family members were not involved or were too young and expressed no interest in continuing the greater Frisch’s legacy. NRD Partners planned to expand Frisch’s presence in existing and smaller markets-including expanding statewide in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio outside of Greater Cleveland. (which is served by Big Boy Restaurants International) while enjoying its Big Boy rights in Tennessee. By expanding into that state, including Nashville. In March 2017, Frisch’s unveiled a restyled statue. The new statue resembles the original West Coast design with black pompadour hair. And Big Boy hamburger hoisted atop one arm. The checkered outfit, however, is replaced with striped overalls including slingshot as used on the original East Coast Big Boy. Now displaying a healthy torso. The Big Boy’s black and white saddle shoes. Are replaced with cap toed sneakers. The debut statue (wearing a Cincinnati Reds uniform) is placed at the Great American Ball Park. Another in the Dry Ridge KY location. Frisch’s will then swap the new statues for existing restaurant statues in need of repair. It closed in 2020. COVID-19 impact and closures. Frisch’s was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and closed 7 locations when it hit, and limited operations at 7 others. 2 locations closed in Louisville, the Carew Tower location, and others in small Ohio towns. The ones temporary limiting operations were all in Ohio. Frisch’s also opened the Big Boy’s market for essential goods in most locations during the pandemic. However, for the legacy Big Boy chain, the situation got worse. Frisch’s, after hiring a new CEO in 2022, began closing stores en masse in 2023, pointing to the economy and inflation as reasons. In a dire attempt to save the company, Frisch’s has begun to refranchise locations, or transforming stores owned by Frisch’s to franchised stores. Despite saying they would, Frisch’s failed to expand in Tennessee. Three locations were shuttered in April, 2024, marking 1/3 of Frisch’s restaurants shut down in only 9 years. 4 days later, Frisch’s shut down the downtown Covington location. By April 8, 2024, Aziz Hashem, managing partner of NRD Capital, said that the closures were because of rent expiration and financial losses. Additionally, he confirmed a 5th location would close, which was in Beavercreek, Ohio. As of November 12, 2024, an additional 20 Ohio and Kentucky Frisch’s locations were closed or set for closure, with all being evicted by their landlord due to not paying rent. In November 2024, local Cincinnati news reported that University of Cincinnati. Real Estate Center puts part of the blame for the closures and evictions on NRD’s sale-lease back. Of its real estate. On December 1, 2024, Cincinnati area news reported that five additional locations were facing eviction action with court hearings “later this month”, including the first location to carry the name Frisch’s, the Frisch’s Mainliner, which opened in 1939 in Fairfax, Ohio. As of December 4, at least a dozen Frisch’s Big Boy restaurants in Kentucky, including both locations in Lexington, have been ordered to close. According to a letter obtained by the Lexington Herald-Leader. Frisch’s landlord, NNN Reit. Sent a notice on Nov. 25 ordering the Lexington stores – at 1849 Alysheba Way and 1927 Harrodsburg Road – to vacate the buildings. Additionally, the Lawrenceburg, Indiana, location also received an eviction notice. 2024 acquisition, restructuring, and lawsuits (2024-present). On November 18, 2024, a group of managers led by Don Short and Cheryl White acquired several Frisch’s locations and Frisch’s brand rights, including the right to use the Big Boy name. On February 14, the new Frisch’s organization, known as “New Frisch’s” sued Big Boy Restaurant Group for allegedly negotiating with NNN REIT to reopen formerly closed locations as “Big Boy”, which violates the agreement settled with the parent organization in 2001. In March, Big Boy Restaurant. Started opening new restaurants in the evicted units, branded as “Dolly’s Burgers and Shakes”, as Frisch’s temporarily blocked them from using the Big Boy name. Later accusations by Big Boy Restaurant Group question if FBB IP owns the trademarks, and questions the buyout, as Aziz Hashem is still president of the company. And FRM Holding Company LLC, an FBB IP affiliate. After that failed and the rights were transferred, Big Boy attempted to terminate Frisch’s rights. As of April 2024, the company operates 56 locations in. The chain is known for its. And has adopted the motto, “the place for smiles”. In the late 1940s, Larry Hatch and Bill Peters were supervisors at. On a trip to Cincinnati, Hatch was impressed seeing the. Frisch’s Big Boy. He and Peters contacted. To operate Big Boy Restaurants in the Pittsburgh area, which would be called Eat’n Park. Eat’n Park launched on June 5, 1949, when Hatch and Peters opened a 13-stall drive-in restaurant on Saw Mill Run Boulevard. Advertised as “Pittsburgh’s First Modern Eat-in-your-Car Food Service” this location was serviced by 10 carhops. Four months later, a second unit opened in Pittsburgh, by 1956: 11 units, 1960: 27 units, 1965: 30 units, and by 1973: 40 Eat’n Park locations. After leaving Big Boy, the chain entered Ohio and West Virginia, and eventually grew to over 75 restaurants. In 2017, there are 69 Eat’n Park restaurants operating. Eat’n Park’s early success had a direct impact on what would become the signature dish. The Pittsburgh-area franchisee for McDonald’s and one of Ray Kroc. Invented what eventually became the Big Mac. In the kitchen of Delligatti’s first McDonald’s franchise, located on McKnight Road. In suburban Ross Township. Before debuting at the McDonald’s owned by Delligatti in Uniontown. On April 22, 1967. It was designed to compete with the Big Boy hamburger Eat’n Park was offering at the time. In 1974, Eat’n Park allowed their 25-year Big Boy franchise agreement to expire. As a result, the Big Boy hamburger was renamed the Superburger. The non-renewal of the Big Boy agreement eventually allowed Eat’n Park to expand into areas licensed to other Big Boy franchises. Eat’n Park expanded into Northeast. And into West Virginia. In 1977, Big Boy reassigned the Pittsburgh territory to Wheeling-based Elby’s Big Boy. The closest Big Boy restaurants operate in Greater Cleveland. And Frisch’s Big Boy restaurants in Heath. In Morgantown and Clarksburg, Eat’n Park competes with fellow former Big Boy franchisee Shoney’s. The company launched its signature Smiley Cookie in 1986 to coincide with adding a bakery. The Smiley Cookie came from Warner’s Bakery, a small bakery in Titusville, Pennsylvania. The Smiley Cookie would become so popular that it would eventually be added to its logo and would spawn the “Frownie” brownie. From rival Kings Family Restaurants. In 2011, Eat’n Park was awarded the Achievement of Excellence award from the American Culinary Federation. While Eat’n Park currently serves western Pennsylvania. And northern West Virginia. The chain also served the Harrisburg. Markets from the mid-1990s to 2010.