Robert C. "Bob" Wian was the founder of the Big Boy

Big Boy (restaurant)

Big Boy is a restaurant chain with its headquarters in Warren, Michigan.Big Boy was started in 1936 by Bob Wian, in partnership with Arnold Peterson in Glendale, California, USA. Marriott Corporation bought the chain in 1967...

 restaurant chain

Chain store

Chain stores are retail outlets that share a brand and central management, and usually have standardized business methods and practices. These characteristics also apply to chain restaurants and some service-oriented chain businesses. In retail, dining and many service categories, chain businesses...

. The restaurant got its start in a 10-stool Glendale, California

Glendale, California

Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...

, hamburger

Hamburger

A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...

 stand in 1936 with an investment of $350 which Wian got from the sale of a used car. He sold the Big Boy

Big Boy (restaurant)

Big Boy is a restaurant chain with its headquarters in Warren, Michigan.Big Boy was started in 1936 by Bob Wian, in partnership with Arnold Peterson in Glendale, California, USA. Marriott Corporation bought the chain in 1967...

 chain to the Marriott Corp.

Marriott Corp.

Marriott Corporation was a hospitality company that operated from 1927–1993, founded originally by J. Willard Marriott and Frank Kimball as Hot Shoppes, Inc. In 1957, Marriott Corporation opened its first hotel in Arlington County, Virginia, United States as the Twin Bridges Motor Hotel...

 in 1967 for seven million dollars. Wian died in Newport Beach, California

Newport Beach, California

Newport Beach, incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, south of downtown Santa Ana. The population was 85,186 at the 2010 census.The city's median family income and property values consistently place high in national rankings...

, and was survived by his wife, June; two sons, Chapman Baehler and Casey Wian; two daughters, Barbara Baehler and Julie Wian, and sisters Doris Weis and Katherine Kurvink.