Kip’s Big Boy

The history of the Big Boy Chain is long and complicated, but its basics are as follows: The original idea for Big Boy came from Bob Wian. He developed the concept and named his restaurant Bob’s Big Boy. The chain had a diner-style menu serving both sandwiches and more complicated affairs such as the shrimp dinner. Though the signature dish was easily the Big Boy Hamburger. This includes a sesame seed bun, special sauce, and two beef patties separated by a piece of bread. Sound familiar? Invented in 1937, the Big Boy inspired the Big Mac (also providing half the name) and many similar burgers across many chains. Bob had some chain experience in the way of operating a Pig Stand. The concept took off quickly, and Bob found himself approached by more potential franchisees than he knew what to do with. A concept that he was not supportive of. This led Bob to focus on licensing rather than franchising. He would end up choosing a small set of franchisees for broad regions of the United States and would allow those franchisees to grant sub-franchises. In 1958, Texas’ franchises were granted to a Houston native, Fred Bell, who was living in Dallas at the time.

The idea was that Bell would help franchise new Kip’s restaurants to owners in other parts of Texas. An early member of what was called the Big Boy System, Kip’s was mostly aligned with Bob’s, only making a few regional changes to the menu. Bell opened Kip’s first Texas location in 1958, immediately after being granted rights to do so. By 1965, Kip’s was up to 7 locations in Dallas and 4 in Fort Worth. In March 1965, Bell announced plans to bring the restaurant to his hometown. Within a few weeks, the location of the first Houston store would be set at the corner of South Park (MLK) and Griggs, replacing a former lumber yard. The first Houston Kip’s would open only a few months later, in August. The quick turnaround at the restaurant necessitated flying in a crew from Dallas to support the local staff who were still being hired. Mr. Bell also noted that Kip’s plans in Houston were to continue expanding. He immediately announced a second location in Bellaire and said the company would soon announce additional Houston locations.

In February 1966, the Bellaire location became the second in Houston to open. From here, it seems that the expansion operations of Kip’s Coffee Shops, as they were officially known, paused in Houston, opting instead to build a store in Dallas the next year. Nevertheless, Kip’s would then build another Houston store by 1968, this one in Highland Village at the corner of Westheimer and Weslayan. From the surface, it seemed that Houston operations were going great. However, the truth was a bit different; the knowledge that Bell had of his hometown was somewhat dated. He was picking locations that had been hot spots, but were quickly changing during the suburban exodus of the 60s. To help combat this, the next location planned in 1969 would be at Westheimer and Hillcroft in the Weingarten Shopping Center. While this isn’t “truly suburban” by modern-day standards, it was on the edge of town back then. However, the existing stores seemed to have a recurring issue with robberies, regardless of location. The 4th location, planned to open in 1970, was delayed, with construction finally starting in May of that year. During the delay, Kip’s hadn’t neglected expanding, opening 4 locations in the DFW area. The fourth Houston Kip’s would finally open in January 1971. This location would also be the “final true Kip’s” to open in the chain. Just over a year later, Frisch’s would purchase the Kip’s Big Boy locations in Texas. The sale was amicable on both sides, as Bell planned to retire soon and Frisch’s was in the market for expansion. Frisch noted that they would also pursue a more aggressive expansion plan. Through this sale, Frisch’s also purchased the rights to the chain in Texas, meaning they could potentially expand into other cities. While Bell had the opportunity to expand to other cities through franchising, it seems this never came to pass.

After the 1972 purchase, the chain sat dormant for the next year. Although not published, this is likely related to the 1973 Oil Crisis, which caused widespread economic instability, especially in cities tied to the oil dollar, such as Houston and Dallas. However, by 1974, expansion would begin again, and Pasadena would have the honor of being the first Frisch’s Big Boy to open in Texas, although it should be noted that the chain never used Frisch’s name publicly, sticking with Kip’s. The same year, Dallas would also receive two restaurants. Over the next few years, DFW would receive three more restaurants, with none for Houston. In 1977, while vacationing in the Bahamas, Fred Bell, his wife, and another couple they were flying with passed away, after a plane that Bell was piloting crashed. At the time, Fred Bell Enterprises had retained Kip’s-era employees and had been expanding into the autocare market, eventually purchasing the Houston-based Brake Check chain, which they still own as of 2022. Meanwhile, A more pressing downfall for Kip’s during this time was the closure of the Grigg’s location. While no official reasoning was given, it likely had to do with the era’s continued determination. After the restaurant closed, it would rotate through a few clubs and bars before being demolished. At this point, it seemed imminent that Big Boy was going to give up on Houston. However, a few months later in 1978, a new Kip’s location popped up off the Gulf Freeway and Monroe. A few miles from Grigg’s, this store seems to have been intended as a successor to Houston’s first location. Over the next few years, Frisch’s would make no further moves in Texas.

However, around 1983, a development was made, and drive-thru service was added to Frisch’s in Texas. The Kip’s locations would, where possible, be retrofitted to include a drive-thru. Around this time, some of the earliest restaurants also closed as their properties were redeveloped, with an average of 1-2 years. In 1989, the first new Kip’s in a decade would open, with Frisch’s building a more modern-designed location outside the Forum Mall in Arlington. The new store was completely up to modern standards, including a built-in drive-thru. While Frisch’s hoped for success, it was obvious that this was not found; by the end of the decade, Kip’s was down to 10 locations throughout the state. At the same time, issues with the Big Boy system as a whole and the increased popularity of fast food led Big Boy to fall far behind the competition. In 1990, Frisch’s let its managers know it was planning to close the restaurants by the end of the year. According to the Houston manager, Stan McFerrin, he was offered the opportunity to buy all the restaurants in the state, or simply just those in Houston, which had dropped to 4 after the Westheimer and Hillcroft location closed in 1989. McFerrin would buy only two of the locations, since his home store is in Pasadena. He would pick up the Gulf Freeway store, leaving Bellaire and Highland Village to close. The Bellaire location would soon be demolished, and Dot Coffee Shop would purchase the Highland Village store and continue to operate it, with many of Kip’s elements in place. They would even adopt the use of “Steak Shake and Pancakes” from Kip’s-era Big Boys in their existing restaurants. During this time, a group of managers also purchased some of the remaining Dallas stores, and they would quickly transition them to Denny’s branding. McFerrin, on the other hand, would stick with Kip’s making his locations, the last remaining in Texas. He would finally shut his stores in 1994 due to difficulties finding employees.

Location List