Becoming A Big Boy Franchise
During or 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-decker 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. In order to obtain national trademark protection, Wian needed his Big Boy restaurants to operate in other regions of the United States. So when two men later met, Wian offered Frisch a sweetheart deal of $1 per year for a four state territory. 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. Where Bob Wian dressed his Big Boy hamburger with mayonaise and red relish (later simplified to Thousand Island dressing by other Big Boy franchisees), Frisch chose his own homemade tartar sauce as the condiment. This made Frisch's stand out from most other Big Boy restaurants. (Frisch's licensee Manners Big Boy used a similar tarter sauce on its Big Boy hamburger.) Frisch's tartar sauce became the signature sauce served with other menu items, and was eventually sold in jars for take home use. 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 painted with brown hair and checkered overalls.
In 1948, the first Frisch's Big Boy restaurant, "Big Boy One," opened on Central Parkway a short drive north of downtown Cincinnati. Although the look has changed, Frisch's still operates in that location today.
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