That cart almost ran into the poor guy. At Whole Foods on Bellaire Blvd in Houston.
Chason Gordon / Chron
He stands there holding an endlessly fresh burger and permanently grinning as customers stand in line to … return items to Amazon. A little off to the side at the Whole Foods on Bellaire in Houston is an old-fashioned Big Boy statue, looking totally out of place in the upscale grocery market.
It’s clearly not for sale and wouldn’t fit in your shopping cart anyway, so what’s it doing there?
Article continues below this ad
Generational Texans may recognize the little fella—with his frozen pompadour and red and white checkered apron—as the mascot from Kip’s Big Boy diner franchise. Advertised as “Texas’ favorite family restaurant,” Big Boy was known for its breakfast, coffee, and especially the Big Boy burger, which included two beef patties, special dressing, and a slice of “Fine American cheese,” all of which was separated by an extra piece of bread.
If that sounds like another famous double-decker “Big” burger, it’s no accident. The original incarnation inspired McDonald’s Big Mac, even using “Big” in the name itself. But none of this originated in Texas. Kip’s Big Boy was a Lone Star offshoot of the original national Big Boy franchise, founded by Bob Wian in 1936 as Bob’s Pantry in Glendale, California.
Over the years, Wian franchised throughout the country, with different regions seeing their own incarnations. In California, it was Bob’s Big Boy; for the Midwest, Frisch’s, and in the Southeast, they called it Shoney’s. Here in Texas, we knew the little guy as Kip.
Article continues below this ad
That’s because in 1958, Texas’ franchises were granted to Fred Bell, a Houston native who was living in Dallas at the time. He opened the first in Dallas that same year, and by 1965, the Dallas-Fort Worth area hosted 11 spots, according to Houston Historic Retail. Space City finally grabbed its own location in 1965 at the corner of South Park (MLK) and Griggs, and in 1966, a second one came to Bellaire.
Back to the statue at Whole Foods
Which brings us all the way back to why that statue is hanging out near the Whole Foods restroom. A Whole Foods spokesperson told Chron that while exact details aren’t known, they believe the statue was gifted to the store around the time when the Whole Foods opened in 2000, as Kip’s Big Boy was a landmark in the Bellaire neighborhood since the 1960s and “was something fun to keep in the community.”
Article continues below this ad
The Big Boy statue may feel a little lost, as this Whole Foods is not the exact spot where the original location on Bellaire Boulevard stood. That one operated a little down the road from 1966 to 1990, and was later demolished for what is now the headquarters of Citizens National Bank. Unfortunately for Texans, this was mostly the fate for all the Big Boy locations here.
While Big Boy still exists in various forms throughout the country, it appears all 24 of the Texas spots disappeared over time due to financial difficulties. Some were demolished, and others became different restaurants.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
On social media, fans nostalgic for the burgers regularly trade memories of the once-popular diner. “My dad took me to the Bellaire location when I was a kid. He and my mom had just split, it was the first time I saw him order a beer. Oh, and the burger was awesome,” recalls one person on Reddit. “I remember that place from the ’80s; it was sad to see them take the Big Boy statue down,” wrote another.
Article continues below this ad
All that apparently remains are the somewhat random sightings of the Big Boy statue itself. One was rescued in a backyard in Dallas, inspiring hundreds to write the owner letters and even stop by to take selfies with it. They’ve also been sighted at antique stores throughout the state. And who knows, there might even be one behind you right now, like Chucky.
At the Bellaire Whole Foods, however, he doesn’t appear to be the celebrity he once was, with few asking for signatures or to take a picture. But once in a while, a child will saunter over and stare wide-eyed at the much bigger boy.
So if you find yourself at that particular part of Whole Foods returning a package to Amazon, feel free to say hello. There isn’t a plaque or anything, but hopefully Big Boy thinks the nearby line is for him.
Article continues below this ad