How about giving us the price so we can get our money together if the other HAMBer backs out. There is a place by me that has one of the large KFC buckets.
I knew a guy in high school who got busted for trying to steal a bob's big boy statue! Not sure how he was planning on getting it home. Which reminds me of the time when we "borrowed" a Dairy Queen sign, took it apart and used it to go sledding on Mt. Baldy! I think the sign is still in the basement at my mother-in-law's.
Cyclone! As a chef, I gotta love you man. You are indeed the official SoCal eatery historian / concierge. Please tell me they didn't close the hat!
Devin, they have actually opened more "HATS". Say, when you were sledding up on Mount Baldy you didn't happen to find my high school ring, did you? It would have said "Arroyo High 1965". I lost it goofing around in the snow up there about a week after I got it. Wayno
There is still a Sambo's in Santa Monica right on the waterfront street (cant remember the name of the street right now). T The Bobs in Monrovia Closed many years ago and and independent bought it, and ran it, but the food sucked so he went out of business last year and they tore it down and built a strip mall there. I was so bumbed when I heard they were going to tear it down that I called Bob's in Burbank and asked the owner to buy it. If that place was a Bobs now.... it would be bumpin.
They actually had a Bob's in Canoga Park? Amazing, I went to Canoga Park High, W '60...didn't have any Bob's back then. Lucky to find a greasy taco. Congrats on scoring those souveniers! Great stories you're tellin' Kev, this is all too rich!
Yeah, You're talking about "Sandy's she had about 3 of them (Alhambra,San Gabriel & the Old Bob's in Monrovia). We used to hang @ the cruise on Friday nights next door when it was FATBURGER-owned by Steve a couple of years back. I too used to wish that a wealthy benifactor would come to see that the buiding had potential. It was just about 29yrs old when they dozed it. Monrovia is way into Historical stuff, but didn't care to much about it's old car dealerships or restaurants-(They like their lil place along Huntington Dr.) All somebody had to do with that building was to erect a canopy for car hop service & do the buiding up in a "Googie Style" restoration. Would have taken lots of money, but in the end if the meals were a deal, people would line up just like they do in Toluca Lake & That owner originally petitioned for a tear down permit when he purchased the property in order to erect a multi-story building. It was the customers & the preservationists that got that site & signage declared an historical monument. It was in the "Valley" section of the times in 91-92 as I recall. Now That guy makes bank!!!!!
That's the only real recognizable "Joint" on Valley @ Garfileld The Hat is still going strong & that too was slated for demo when the owner of the "Belly Buster" Chain of sandwich shops took it over in like 85-86? (I may be wrong with the dates). People mounted a protest, they saw that the business was still brisk and that it might behoove them to NOT tear down this fine Pastrami & Chili Burger joint and capitilize on what the original owners started in 1951. They sold their sandwich store and have like 10 Hats now & one is about walking distance from my house in a in Temple City. Yeah, I go there all of the time. Hey Devin,BTW Thanks for the compliment & Merry X-mas to all the HAMBERS out there.
They opened a new "prototype" Bob's Big Boy in North Las Vegas in Nov. It has the same menu, gotta make it up there to see if Bob's living out front! Did anyone have the talking Bob? Rapid City, South Dakota had one, used to scare the hell outa me when I was a little guy and would go there!
It was on Sherman Way, between Canoga & Desoto on the south side of the street. It had car hop service and the Big Boy was stolen a few times. The Northridge one was at Devonshire and Reseda and is now a Carrows.
There was a Bob's Big Boy Express (small menu, in a gas station) that opened in Santa Paula, CA a few years ago on the 126...but it is no longer with us. There was another one in Lake Havasu City, AZ that is also now closed.
Good news is, there is a brand new franchise opening in Northridge at the SE corner of Corbin and Nordhoff, in the Target shopping center. hopefully it fares better.
You can buy your own statue here... I don't think it comes with the girl though... http://bobs.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=BBB&Product_Code=M13
The chain is apparently coming back but slowly. There is one in Los Angeles and one in Burbank that never closed. Another has reopened in Torrance. There are franchise applications at the cash register. I still enjoy a "Big Boy" with avocado and a vanilla shake. Charlie Stephens
Man, I always wondered what Big Boy was, I only know it from Austin Powers, you know Dr Evils space ship........ Hey, turn it over and see if theres a big egg in the back of it...... Doc.
Since this old thread seems to have gained a new life, apart from the well publicized rescue of Harvey's/Johnie's Broiler in Downey due to reopen as a Bob's Big Boy later this year - eternal thanks to Cyclone Kevin for all your work on this - there is one in Brea close to the intersection of the 60 and 57 Fwys and another due to open soon in Orange where the Drive In movie theater used to be on Katella. Cruisin' to Bob's anyone?
I have no idea why I love over sized fiberglass objects so much........but I do! Bought a 7' tall spark plug from a HAMBer, and am still waiting for my brother to deliver it to me.
There's a market in south Los Angeles called Numero Uno Markets. They are scattered all over LA, mostly in low income neighbor hoods. They cater to the hispanic community. We were doing some sidewalk and street repair last year in front of one of these markets. There are vaults that run under the streets and sidewalks and alot of these older buildings have access. This Market had the access. We got ahold of the manager and told him we work for the city and we need access to the vault... When we got downstairs The owner was using the vault has storage. He had 5 big boy statues, about 10 old restored vintage gas pumps and a bunch of harley motors, shovelheads and one panhead. I asked the manager if anything was for sale. His eyes got really big and he just shook his head no. 6 months later the guy that owns all of the markets was involved with the mexican mafia and was indidted. All the markets are still up and running.
Do you know more about that? I live in Orange and haven't seen anything on it. I'll drive by there tomorrow. My grandmother was good friends with Bob Wian and my parents used to date by going to the original Glendale car hop location in High School. My mom has a huge collection of Bob's memorabilia.
I think it's going where Carinos was, near Kings' fish house. One of my neighbors has the mold for the Big Boy in his back yard...among his many "treasures"
I drive by there every day - haven't seen any signs to that effect .... And King's Fish House MMMMMM. think I'll go there tonight!
Never got in contact with the people, left messages and called many times. Just wasnt meant to be I guess.....
Don't forget about the one out in Baker CA! It's right next to the "Tallest Thermometer in the World". This pic is from '07...
Sounds like we ought to get a cruise going - I miss the old Omega Burger Wednesday night hangout - sometimes there used to be over 100 cars there. Randy Ema used to show up from time to time with his beater Cord Phaeton or one of his old Auburns, as his shop is just around the corner. I'm going to check out the status and see when the new 'Orange Bob's' Grand Opening is scheduled.
Funny how PC works in reverse? Seems to me as the story was told Sambo was the Hero who defeated the Tiger,and he gets dumped by the PC police?? That's just Wrong! I wonder if Rev.Jesse knows about this injustice.
I know we have one here in brookpark ohio and he is still outside and there was one in my home town here and me and my wife had taken our wedding pic's with him sad that our hang out is now gone but we have the pic's to live with and I'm going to blow one up for the garage wall, Love the pic, we also have one in toledo and I was at one in cali a few years ago and I bought a few t-shirts from the place, they had a hole wall fill with them and I would have bought one of each if I could. LOL.
Did Omega for a long time. Pisses me off that the Jackoff that owns the Omega burger had it shut down because too many people were using his crappy little one hole bathroom. He got a lot of extra business from the Cruise night and my friends and I now refuse to eat there at any time! Let me know if you find anything out about the "Bob's in Orange"
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