Big Boy or Fish Fare – March 1966

Well, it's finally Friday. For many of us, that means it's time to start thinking about maybe fish for dinner. I'm not Catholic, but I still like fish on Friday. I haven't been to Slovak Home in recent years, but I've carried out from Chris' a few times this Lent season, as well as once or twice from Long John Silver's.

Sixty years ago, you might have decided to stop at Manners and try their Fish Fare, as promoted in the Journal ad above from March 31, 1966. While Lake Erie perch is usually the popular local choice, Manners was offering a special deal of twelve ocean perch and a pound of French Fries, plus a pint of cole slaw for only $1.95.

Back then, there was only the Manners on Henderson Drive (the former Hoop Drive-in). But within a few years, there would also be restaurants on West Erie Avenue, Oberlin Avenue and near the intersection of Rts. 254 and 57. We would carry out from the one on Oberlin Avenue.

I don't know, but I would have had a tough time back then (or now) walking into Manners and not buying a Big Boy. It's a good thing I'm not Catholic after all.

It's still interesting to me that there were two versions of the Big Boy mascot, the "West Coast" version (the fat one) and the "East Coast" version, which is the one that was used by Manners). (I wrote about them here). 

I always liked the Manners version of Big Boy. He's running away with his namesake sandwich and he already took a bite out of it! He's armed with a slingshot, perhaps in case anyone tried to stop him. 

If you look on eBay, there are a lot of "East Coast" Big Boy items for sale.

Anyway, I happened to be in Fremont last weekend. When it was dinner time, a Frisch's Big Boy conveniently loomed into view on State Street and solved the problem of where to eat.

 

Consequently a fine meal of – what else? – Big Boys was enjoyed. 

The restaurant manager mentioned that she had been forced to find a new supplier for the trademark Big Boy white sauce. I think she said it was due to some issues caused by the ongoing lawsuit.

Nevertheless, I always look forward to my next Big Boy sandwich, whether it happens to be in Port Clinton, Cleveland, or wherever.

Manners Thanksgiving Coloring Contest – Nov. 1973

Thanksgiving is next week. Unbelievable! It seems like it was just Halloween.

Nevertheless, if you haven't already, it's time to start thinking about the upcoming holiday. And to put you in the mood, here's a Thanksgiving-themed ad for Manners that pretty much took up a whole page in the November 5, 1973 edition of the Journal. As noted in the ad, it's the Second Annual Manners Thanksgiving Coloring Contest page.

It was a pretty nice promotion. Kids could bring their finished coloring pages to their local Manners, where their drawing would be put on display. If they brought their Mom and Dad along (presumably to eat dinner there) the young artist would receive a free Big Boy.

Each Manners restaurant would select a winner in each of three different age groups, with $10 Manners gift certificates as prizes. Then the three winners from each location would compete for seven special prizes, with the Grand Prize consisting of a $100 gift certificate from Clarkins department store. 

It's an interesting cross-promotion with Clarkins, especially since the one in Lorain had just opened in April 1973, and was just a few miles from both westside Manners locations.

Anyway, the illustration for the kids to color is quite nice, with plenty of details. What's unusual is that the turkey is rendered realistically, snood and all.

The Manners version of the Big Boy is appropriately decked out with a Pilgrim hat. I still prefer the design of this Big Boy, with his slingshot hanging out of his back pocket, to the more obese version that eventually replaced him. (I explained why there are two different Big Boy mascots to this very day back here.)

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Click here to visit the 'national' Big Boy website and enjoy a very well-done history of the brand. And here is the link to the Frisch's Big Boy website and its history page. 

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If all of this Big Boy talk has put you in the mood for the iconic double-decker sandwich, there are still some Northern Ohio locations, including: 12920 Brookpark Road, Brookpark, Ohio; 1701 E. Perry Street, Port Clinton, Ohio.

Of Picnics and Chick-nics

The Brady picnic basket today

There's something very nostalgic about picnics – pleasant memories of simpler times, of days spent at a park having fun and enjoying great food.

We went on quite a few picnics in the 1960s, usually as part of a day of swimming. Mom would pack a picnic lunch and we'd head out to East Harbor State Park, or perhaps Findley State Park. (Lakeview Park didn't have much of a beach back then.) The basket always contained the things needed to eat outside, such as a plastic tablecloth, paper plates, the thumbtacks to hold everything in place on the table, plastic silverware, a brush to clean the table, etc. Everything else (sandwiches, pop, etc.) fit nicely in our huge Coleman cooler. 

Food just seemed to taste better outside. Of course, you had to keep the potato salad out of the sun.

Anyway, the Brady picnic basket saw a lot of action over the years. It was pressed back into service decades later when the Texas Bradys (including my young nephews) came to Ohio for their annual visit. 

Once in a while, rather than pack sandwiches in a cooler, it was easier to just pick up a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken to bring along. And that's the same theme of this full-page Manners ad, which ran in the Journal back on July 1, 1963. The idea was to pick up a convenient Country Cousin Chicken Chick-nic pack, which came with chicken, dinner rolls and six cans of Coke. It was a pretty good deal.

It's interesting that the burger-loving Manners Big Boy mascot was featured on the box of chicken. Or was that his lookalike country cousin?

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Manners has been a favorite topic on this blog. On this post, you can get a good look at the Country Cousin Chicken red barn box. And back here I wrote about how there were two Big Boys – the Bob's Big Boy version connected with the national chain, and the Cleveland-area Manners version.

Manners Ad – August 25, 1962

Watermelon was always a favorite of my parents in the summertime. Me? I could take it or leave it. But my father particularly enjoyed it. We would sprinkle salt on each slice. (Now I wouldn't dream of putting salt on watermelon – or sweet corn for that matter.)

But watermelon is the focus of the Manners ad above, which ran in the Journal back on August 25, 1962. The deal: a free, whole watermelon with the purchase of Manners Country Cousin Chicken in the carry-out 'red barn' box. Besides the watermelon, dinner consisted of twelve pieces of chicken and dinner rolls.

Here's a closer look at the Country Cousin Chicken box, in color, courtesy of Worthpoint. It's pretty cute, with the Manners version of Big Boy all decked out like a farmhand.

I like the creativity that went into advertising in those days. The box actually made the whole experience fun. 

I remember saving an actual Red Barn restaurant box (similar to the Manners one) and using it to store my bottle cap collection. I'll bet the inside of that box was pretty greasy.

Manners Big Boy Ad – July 1, 1972

Fifty years ago this month, Manners restaurants was advertising a tasty sandwich deal: two Big Boys for 99 cents. The chain also wanted to plug the fact that its carhop hostesses had new red, white and blue outfits.

Consequently, the company's advertising firm came up with the punny ad above, utilizing two different meanings of the word 'dish.'

Although the ad would be seen as sexist today, you've got to admit that it's still pretty innocuous – and mild by today's standards. The young waitress is cute and wholesome. (Fifty years later, some sports bar chains are built around the attire that their waitresses wear.)

What's interesting is that the Manners ad represents a different approach to promoting the Big Boy sandwich with no trace of the chubby mascot in sight. Robert Manners (co-founder of the restaurant chain) had sold his business to Consolidated Foods in 1968, so perhaps the new owner was still trying different approaches to see what worked.

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Manners and Big Boy has been a favorite topic on this blog.

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UPDATE (Sept. 5, 2022)

Two months after the Manners ad shown above appeared in the Journal, the second ad in the 99 cents campaign turned up in the paper on September 1, 1972. This time, the advertisement included the Manners Big Boy advertising mascot as a sign-off.

Manners Big Boy Hires Security Guards – Dec. 1971

Fifty years ago, in a reflection of those turbulent times, Manners Big Boy (located at the corner of Leavitt Road and West Erie Avenue) had to resort to hiring private security guards to maintain a safe and family-friendly atmosphere at the restaurant.

The story above appeared in the Journal back on Dec. 30, 1971.

As the article notes, “Manner’s has been plagued by groups of teenagers loitering in the restaurant for hours without buying anything other than a soft drink."

The real problem is that apparently there had been “heavy drug traffic” with eighteen syringes found one night in the men’s room.

Unfortunately, as a result many teenagers ended up being denied entrance to the restaurant and felt discriminated against. A dress code barring Jeans and t-shirts also was being enforced.

But as the article notes, the head of the security company pointed out that “though Manner’s is open to the public it is private property.

”The owners have a right to discriminate as to who goes into the restaurant.”

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Although it’s been quite a while, it’s kind of nice seeing the photo of the familiar Manners Big Boy sign. Looking at the repurposed Beachcliff Diner sign, I can see now that the sign has been shortened, with the former ‘Manners’ portion of it removed.

I wrote about the various restaurants located on this corner several times, including this post as part of my history of Manners, as well as this post about when it was a Hoop restaurant operated by Richard Head.

Manners Fish 'N Chips Ad – March 1970

It seems like Lorain was crazy for fish & chips back in March 1970. Or at least the restaurant chains thought so.

We’ve already seen that Arthur Treacher’s had just opened in Lorain at that time. And the Olde English Fish ’N Chip Shoppe on Oberlin Avenue had introduced the English delicacy to the local market the previous year.

Well, now it seems that Manners was trying to mussel, I mean, muscle in the fish & chips racket as well. The above ad ran in the Journal on March 14, 1970.

Unfortunately, bland typography and an unappealing description of the dish (“crispy golden coating over flaky, white-meated blue water fish”) doesn’t exactly make me want to reach for a bottle of malt vinegar. The realistic fish and lure clip art doesn’t do it for me either.

I think Manners did a lot better job with this October 1966 ad for good ol’ Lake Erie perch (even though it features the same fish art). It looks fun and you don’t have to squint at any fine print.

But then again, a real perch-loving Lorainite probably would have headed over to the Slovak Home if it was Friday.

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Manners has long been a favorite topic on this blog, including multi-part series on the Hoop/Manners Story, and The Restaurants of Richard W. Head.

Manners Back-to-School Ad – September 1, 1968

Here’s a unique back-to-school promotional for Manners Big Boy (a favorite topic on this blog) that ran in the Journal back on Sept. 1, 1968, back in the days when schools hadn’t already been in session for two weeks.

It’s a cute promotion: two Big Boy sandwiches packed in a lunch box that good be used later by the kiddies or Dear Old Dad, all for $1.98.

The illustration of the lunch box doesn’t appear to have the Manners version of Big Boy on it, just illustrations of travel decals, which is too bad. (I pointed out that there were – and still are – two different Big Boy mascots to this day here.)

I looked on Ebay to see if one of these lunch boxes managed to survive. While I couldn’t find one, I did notice a nice mini-collection of Manners Big Boy paraphernalia, consisting of a vintage breakfast menu, a china cup and plate.

Click here to "buy it now” on Ebay and indulge in your wildest Manners mealtime fantasy.

There’s also a nice Manners glass for sale too.

Manners at SR 57 & SR 254 Opens – July 1967

Fifty-one years ago this month, the very modern-looking Manners Big Boy near the intersection of State Routes 254 and 57 opened for business, as noted above in the caption and photo that appeared in the Journal on July 12, 1967.

It’s still hard to believe that after building up such a huge presence in Lorain County, the Manners chain still disappeared before the end of the 1970s.

I remember eating at this particular restaurant in the 1980s (after a late gig, just like the type mentioned in the old Burger King commercials). It was no longer a Big Boy; it might have been part of Richard Head’s brief chain of Tudy’s restaurants at the time.

Anyway, that was when I learned that I could drink a lot of coffee at three in the morning and still manage to go home and fall asleep right away.

Today, the building is long gone and the property is now the North Ridge Park complex.

The Restaurants of Richard W. Head – Part 4

The Hoop Drive-in on West Erie
(Photo courtesy of Richard C. Head)

As I noted in a past series on the Hoop Drive-in, the popularity and success of Richard W. Head’s homegrown restaurant chain attracted the attention of the Manners organization in Cleveland.

(It probably didn’t hurt that the “Sooper Hooper” double-decker burger was similar to the classic Big Boy sandwich.)

By 1961, Manners had purchased the original Hoop Drive-in on Henderson Drive.

1962 Lorain phone book ad

Three out of the four remaining locations (including an Elyria outlet on Bridge Street) followed, leaving one Hoop restaurant on North Ridge near Clinton Avenue. Richard W. Head consequently joined the Manners organization as an associate.

But that’s not the end of the story. Even before the Manners chain eventually disappeared entirely in the late 1970s, Richard W. Head was back at work at the restaurants he built. The 1975 city directory listed him as the manager of Poor Richard’s Pub at the original Hoop Drive-in location. And the former West Erie Avenue Hoop that had become a Manners Big Boy briefly became a Hoop again in 1975.

In September 1975, Richard W. Head purchased Tudy’s Restaurant on 254. He also developed a small chain of Tudy’s Restaurants, using the former Hoop/Manners location on West Erie and the Manners at 2173 N. Ridge Road.

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Looking back, Richard W. Head successfully owned and operated restaurants in the Lorain area over three decades. It’s an achievement that we’ll probably not see again soon, especially during a time in which consumers tend to favor national chains, making it a challenge for locally owned restaurants to survive.

In an email, Richard C. Head explained how his father’s restaurants played an important role in his life.

"All of my family worked in those restaurants in our teen years and they were the foundation of our family’s financial well being, as well as a training ground for all of us regarding how to work hard in this life."

As for his father, Richard noted, "He was a unique man who taught us all how to conduct our lives for the greater good. 

"Thanks for keeping his legacy alive!”

Manners Perch Dinner Ad – October 4, 1966

It's Friday! To many people, that means it's time for a fish dinner, perhaps a visit to American Slovak Home in Lorain, home of the best local fish fry.

Well, back in October 1966, another option was a trip to Manner's Big Boy Restaurants for their perch dinner.

As the ad copy says, dinner included Tasty Golden Brown Fresh Lake Erie Perch, French Fried Potatoes, Country Cream Slaw and a Freshly Baked Roll & Butter. Nice, light fare.

I wonder if Big Boy Restaurants could get away with using the word 'Whopper' in an ad today?

Anyway, at that point in 1966, Lorain had three Manners: at Leavitt and W. Lake Road (West Erie Avenue); Oberlin Avenue & Foster Park W. (Route 254); and Henderson Drive. Elyria's Manner's was at 146 Bridge Street.

The announcement that one would be built on Route 254 near Route 57 had just occurred that August.

Manners and Big Boy have been favorite topics on this blog since 2011.

The Big Boy mascot was in the news earlier this year, when he received an (ugh) makeover.

But I still prefer the original Manners version, the one familiar to Northeast Ohio fans of the double decker burger.

Big Boy Revisited

The Big Boy outside the Port Clinton restaurant

Over the weekend, I found myself in Port Clinton around mealtime. Since that city is one of the few in Northern Ohio with a Big Boy restaurant, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have one of their iconic double-decker sandwiches.

You might remember that back here, I explained how there are actually two competing Big Boy chains: Big Boy, which has a direct lineage to the original restaurant, and Frisch's Big Boy.

Frisch's originally was one of the largest franchisees of the Big Boy chain, and introduced the sandwich in Ohio. Manners Big Boy (in the Cleveland area) was a licensee of Frisch's.

Interestingly, in those early days, Frisch's had been granted permission to develop its own version of the Big Boy mascot. Frisch's version wasn't as, uh, fat as the original Big Boy character used in the rest of the country. He also wore a hat with the name of the franchisee. Consequently, Frisch's version was used by Manners and that's the Big Boy (at left) we grew up in Northern Ohio.

Over the years there were many other franchisees of the Big Boy name, including Shoney's and Eat'n Park. You might remember (if you ever visited Detroit or listened to CKLW in the 60s and 70s) that Elias Brothers was the franchisee in Michigan.

Today, Frisch's is a co-registrant of the Big Boy name and trademark along with the other chain. Frisch's has restaurants in Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee and Ohio – including the one in Port Clinton.

The sign outside the Port Clinton restaurant

It's interesting to me from a marketing perspective that the Port Clinton restaurant is a sort of hybrid between the two competing Big Boy brands. It's independently owned and operated by Bennett Enterprises as a Frisch's, and as a result uses Frisch's tasty tartar sauce on its Big Boys. It uses the Frisch's version of the mascot on its sign (at right). But the statue in front of its store, as well as the souvenir items sold inside are all of the chubbier version.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed my sandwich at the Port Clinton location. I just have to make sure that with all these Big Boys, Oh Boys and Texas Burgers that I've been inhaling lately that I don't end up looking like a burger mascot myself.

The Big Boy's Dual Identities

Before I close out my series on Manners Big Boy, I thought I would point out something that has confused me for some time: there are two different Big Boy mascots.

The one you see the most often is the one with checkered overalls above, hoisting his namesake sandwich. He's kinda chubby and has that distinctive upswept hairdo. He appeared in all those comic books that were given away at Big Boy restaurants. (Click here to read more about the comic book.)

He was featured prominently in the movie Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) when Dr. Evil escaped at the beginning of the movie, by launching himself into space inside a rocket shaped like a Bob's Big Boy statue.

Dr. Evil's Big Boy-shaped rocket in orbit

The other Big Boy is the one that we grew up with in Northeast Ohio, featured in the Manners ads. This lad isn't as chubby, and has a slingshot sticking out of his back pocket. He also wears a paper hat with the Manners name on it. (Sometimes it just says "Big Boy".)

In his early appearances, his overalls are plain. Later on, they have stripes.

He was featured in his own comic books too.

1961 comic book giveaway

So why are there two different Big Boys?

The chubby one in the checkered pants is more or less the 'official' one, meaning that he evolved as the mascot for Bob's Big Boy in California, where it all began in 1936. You can visit the Bob's Big Boy website here.

When Bob's Big Boy decided to franchise their sandwich, Frisch's in Cincinnati (owned by Dave Frisch) was the very first licensee. They had the rights to Big Boy in Ohio, Kentucky and a few other states.

You can visit the Frisch's Big Boy website here.

The Frisch's mascot ended up looking a little different from the Bob's Big Boy version. And he still does to this day.

According to the Tom Feran article, Bob Manners bought the rights to the Big Boy from Dave Frisch and thus ended up with the Frisch version of the mascot.

I actually like him better than the Bob's version.

To me, he's got a lot more personality. He looks like a fun-loving kid with his slingshot. He's actually taken a bite out of the double decker, rather than delivering it to a customer. He's running away with it!

Here's how he looks now (below).

Compare it with his chubby counterpart at the top of this post. It looks like the now hatless, hapless Frisch version is slowly being forced to conform to his double-chinned double! Note the wavy hair and checkered overalls. Plus, it looks like he has been forbidden to sample the burger. "Don't eat it, just deliver it as per our instructions," he's been told by the corporate suits.

Nevertheless, the two different Big Boys coexist peacefully. And I still like the Frisch's one better.

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Back in the fall of 1999, I took a road trip to Columbus to shoot along U.S. Route 40, the National Road. I snapped my way (no digital camera then) from one side of the town to the other, shooting a variety of things.

One of the subjects was this Frisch's Big Boy which was right on U.S. 40 on West Broad Street. 

I read online that it's gone now, replaced (just like the Kahiki, Columbus' famous Polynesian supper club) by a Walgreens. Ugh.

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And as a final note, after writing about Big Boys for several days now, I just had to have one! (It's been about 12 years since my last one!) So after a haircut and some business out in North Olmsted last week, on a night that the spouse duped me for dinner, I headed out to the Big Boy at 12920 Brookpark Road in Cleveland.

I walked in, ordered a Big Boy for take-out, and sat down. They had a nice display of Big Boy items for purchase in the lobby, including a nodder, a bank and a travel mug. No comic books, though. 

Back in the car, I excitedly unwrapped my Big Boy. It looked great – huge – and tasted fantastic. As I told my co-worker the next day: "It was the best thing I ate all year."

Until Thanksgiving dinner, of course.

The Hoop/Manners Story Part 2

1966 Phone Book ad

Manners had an immediate presence in Lorain County with the purchase and conversion of three Hoop Drive-ins, and the construction of a brand new outlet at 2173 N. Ridge Road near the intersection of State Route 254 and State Route 57. (Meanwhile, the lone Hoop Drive-in also continued on for a bit at 2017 N. Ridge Road, which is where Clinton Avenue meets N. Ridge Road.)

Manners really believed in promotion, and the company ran large ads in the Lorain telephone book (like the one shown above) touting their signature Big Boy double decker burger. The company also ran big regular ads in the Lorain Journal.

November 18, 1968 newspaper ad

It was hard not to be aware of Manners if you were a kid growing up in Lorain, with two restaurants on the west side. I've mentioned before how Manners used to give away free Big Boys for good report cards.

Since the Big Boy name was franchised, different restaurant chains bought the right to use it in certain territories. While Manners had the rights for a while in Northern Ohio, they must have lost them or decided to drop them at some point because by 1970, the ads no longer featured the Big Boy name or its iconic slingshot-carrying mascot.

1970 phone book ad; note the generic double decker burger

The Manners restaurants began to disappear in the early 1970's. The lone exception was the one at 2173 North Ridge Road. It was the only Manners left in town by 1975. (The Henderson Drive location, discussed in a separate post last week, had become Poor Richard's Pub.)

Strangely enough, the Hoop Drive-in made at curtain call at 2405 W. Lake Road for a few years starting in 1975. But by 1980, it was Tudy's Coffee Shop, followed by Bonnie's Place (in 1982). Sadly, by 1985 it was storage for Jeancola's Market. It would later spring back to life as Antigoni's, and later, the Fish Shanty and others. The restaurant sign has said Pete's Family Restaurant for quite a while, but I think the current business occupying the building is called the Beachcliff Diner.

Former Manners at intersection of Leavitt Road and US Route 6 in Lorain

The Manners at 2173 N. Ridge Road near Route 57 (which opened on July 12, 1967) was still in the phone book in 1977. Then, in 1978 it returned to its roots as it was very briefly Bob's Big Boy. By 1980, it was also a Tudy's and by 1983 it was listed as vacant. It was also Twigs Family Restaurant around 1986 before becoming Imperial Gardens Chinese Restaurant in the late 1980's. Today, the North Ridge Park office park is at the location and there is no evidence that there ever was a restaurant there.

Former Manners Big Boy location on North Ridge Road near State Route 57

The Manners building at the southern end of Oberlin Avenue is gone as well. The property has been used for years to display a variety of small sheds and other buildings for sale by Storage Buildings Unlimited.

Looking east across Oberlin Ave. at former Manners location

To read a nice story about the Manners restaurants by noted Plain Dealer reporter Tom Feran, click here.