Michigan's Big Boy Getting into the Specialty Burger Business

The Big Boy restaurants are an icon in Michigan. The first restaurant, opened in 1936, was actually located in Glendale, California. In 1987, the owners, the Elias Brothers, moved the business to Michigan and established its headquarters in Warren. Since that time not much has changed with the classic restaurant as it has relied on its specialty, the Big Boy sandwich.

Now, the company will launch a new concept, @burger. There is already one restaurant open for business in Ann Arbor on East Liberty Street just east of South State Street. The restaurant serves a variety of sandwiches, including the @burger, a BLT, a sandwich called the Trash Can, which includes a little bit of everything. Additionally, the specialty burgers are made from a blend of six different meats, which were developed by chefs from around the country. The restaurant also offers a few different salads and milkshakes.

The Big Boy company had done studies of the market in the metro Detroit and determined that this type of burger restaurant would create a demand. Apparently, Big Boy restaurants have seen their sales decline over the last couple years, however the company claims that the new offshoot was not created as a reaction to their decreasing revenues. Pricing for a meal is around $10, not much different than their mainstay Big Boy restaurants.

The company has announced that a second location is a work in progress and that eventually the new restaurant may go national. Missing from the new franchise is the trademark Big Boy, a chubby boy holding a burger high above his head and wearing red and white checkered overalls. The Big Boy icon was actually created by a animation artist from Warner Bros. At one time, the icon was so popular that it was the centerpiece of a comic book. For more information, check out @burger's website or the website of Big Boy restaurants.

Sources:

http://www.atburger.com/

http://www.bigboy.com/

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101003/SUB01/310039949#