Hospitality Industry
After his sports career, Schoenbaum became the founder of the Shoney's Restaurant chain, a regional organization which was one of the largest businesses to originate in West Virginia. In 1947 Schoenbaum opened his first drive-in restaurant, Parkette, in Charleston. In 1952, it became the first restaurant in the Shoney's chain after Schoenbaum obtained the regional marketing rights to the Big Boy trademark. In 1971, Schoenbaum and restaurateur Raymond L. Danner merged their companies to form Shoney's Big Boy Enterprises, Inc. In 1976, Big Boy was dropped from the name, as the company expanded outside its assigned territory for the Big Boy franchise, and also was embroiled in an "image issue" conflict with other franchise holders, which was settled in 1984 by dropping the franchise.
Under Alex Schoenbaum, the Shoney's organization also developed and operated the Captain D's fast food seafood chain, Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken fast-food chain, now part of Mrs. Winner's, and three casual dining chains, The Sailmaker, Pargo's and the Fifth Quarter Steakhouses. In 1976, the company started a lodging chain, with properties branded as "Shoney's Inn" motels. By the 1990s, the company operated over 1,000 restaurants.
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Famous quotes containing the words hospitality and/or industry:
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