Name Bob Wian | Education Glendale High School | |
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Organizations founded Big Boy Restaurants, Bob's Big Boy | ||
Robert C. "Bob" Wian (June 15, 1914 – March 31, 1992) was the founder of the Big Boy restaurant chain. The restaurant got its start in a 10-stool Glendale, California, hamburger stand in 1936 with an investment of $350 which Wian got from the sale of a used car. He sold the Big Boy chain to the Marriott Corp. in 1967 for $7,000,000. Wian died in Newport Beach, California, and was survived by his wife, June, and two sons, Chapman Baehler and Casey Wian, two daughters, Barbara Baehler and Julie Wian, and sisters Doris Weis and Katherine Kurvink.
Wian also served as the mayor for the city of Glendale from October 1948 to April 1949 after serving on the city council in 1948 and replacing a mayor who was removed by a recall election.
Wian was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Robert E. Wian and his wife Cora. The Wians moved to Glendale in 1924 while the younger Wian was still a child.