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Shoney's is an American
restaurant chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate the retail and dining markets and many service categories, in many pa ...
headquartered in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
. It operates restaurants in 17 states, primarily in the
South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
with additional locations in the
Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...
and lower Mid-Atlantic states. Founder
Alex Schoenbaum Alex Schoenbaum (August 8, 1915 – December 6, 1996) was an American collegiate football player and businessman in the hospitality industry, eventually operating a chain of restaurants and later, motels. He is best remembered for developing t ...
opened the first Parkette Drive-In in 1947, and became a licensee of
Big Boy Restaurants Big Boy Restaurant Group, LLC is an American restaurant chain headquartered in Warren, Michigan. Frisch's Big Boy Restaurants is a restaurant chain with its headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Big Boy name, design aesthetic, and menu were pre ...
in 1952. Two years later the name was changed to Shoney's, and aggressive subfranchising followed. Thirty years later, having outgrown its Big Boy territory, Shoney's dropped the Big Boy affiliation. Shoney's is owned by
Scott Steiner Scott Rechsteiner (born July 29, 1962), better known by the ring name Scott Steiner, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Steiner is perhaps best known for his time in World Championshi ...
who purchased the company in 2006 through Royal Hospitality Corporation in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
.


History


1947-1958: Early years as Big Boy franchisee

In 1947, Alex Schoenbaum opened the Parkette Drive-In next to his father's
bowling alley A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a Meetinghouse, clubhous ...
in
Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...
. After meeting with Big Boy founder
Bob Wian Robert C. Wian (June 15, 1914 – March 31, 1992) was the founder of the Big Boy restaurant chain. The restaurant started as a 10-stool hamburger stand in Glendale, California, opening in 1936 with an investment of $300 raised from the sale of hi ...
in 1951, Schoenbaum became a Big Boy franchisee on February 7, 1952, now calling his several locations the Parkette Big Boy Shoppes. In May 1954, a public "Name the Parkette Big Boy Contest" was announced, and in June 1954 Schoenbaum's five Parkette Drive-Ins were rebranded as Shoney's. Shoney's (the Parkette) was originally the Big Boy franchisee for West Virginia; however, Schoenbaum rapidly grew the chain through subfranchising, expanding his Big Boy territory through the southeastern United States, excluding Florida where the rights already belonged to fellow Big Boy franchisee
Frisch's Frisch's Big Boy is a regional Big Boy restaurant chain with headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. For many years a Big Boy franchisee, in 2001, Frisch's became the exclusive owner of the Big Boy trademark in Indiana, Kentucky, and most of Ohio and ...
. Schoenbaum's earliest subfranchisees operated under their own names. In 1955, Leonard Goldstein became a subfranchisee in
Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is lo ...
. Originally operating as Shoney's, he eventually changed to Lendy's Big Boy after another Shoney's subfranchisee called Yoda's Big Boy opened across town. In 1956 a subfranchise was sold to the Boury brothers in northern West Virginia, who operated as Elby's. Elby's, Lendy's, and Yoda's units were originally listed with Shoney's units on the back of the Shoney's menu.''Note: This is a photograph of an early 1960s Shoney's menu cover, which lists then current Shoney's Big Boy restaurants including self-named subfranchises in Shoney's territory.'' Also in 1956, Schoenbaum sold a subfranchise to Abe Becker in
Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
, for Becker's Big Boy. Two
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area subfranchises, Tunes and Arnold's, were opened during this period as well. In 1959 subfranchisee Abe Adler opened Adler's Big Boy in Lynchburg, Virginia, which was later sold to Lendy's. Also in 1959 Shap's Big Boy was subfranchised in
Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...
, later assuming the Shoney's name. After this, all subfranchises went by the name Shoney's. A Shoney's franchisee purchased the parent company in 1971. Under his leadership Shoney's doubled in size every four years, eventually operating or licensing over one third of the Big Boy restaurants nationwide.


1959-1975: Expansion of Shoney's and going public

Selling vending machines in the late 1950s, Ray Danner noticed the popularity of
Frisch's Big Boy Frisch's Big Boy is a regional Big Boy restaurant chain with headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. For many years a Big Boy franchisee, in 2001, Frisch's became the exclusive owner of the Big Boy trademark in Indiana, Kentucky, and most of Ohio and ...
and other drive–in restaurants. Danner, who had operated small businesses, wanted a single Big Boy in his hometown of
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
. Because Frisch's had a Louisville franchisee, he and business partner James Craft contacted Alex Schoenbaum and bought the Shoney's Nashville franchise for $1000. In 1959, the pair opened their first Shoney's Big Boy in Madison, a Nashville suburb, built four more by 1961, and a total of seven Shoney's Big Boys when Danner bought Craft's interest. Then known as ''Shoney's Big Boy of Middle Tennessee'', by 1966 the company operated 10 Big Boys. That year Danner acquired the Louisville
Kentucky Fried Chicken KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...
franchise, which would grow to 22 stores over 15 years. In 1969, ''Shoney's Big Boy of Middle Tennessee'' and the KFC subsidiary became a public company and was renamed ''Danner Foods, Inc.'', with Danner as president. The company now included 14 Big Boy restaurants, and by 1970, added one Big Boy in
Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...
and another in
Opelika, Alabama Opelika (pronounced ) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of Opelika is ...
. Danner wanted additional Shoney's territory but Schoenbaum was developing those areas himself, so the company opened a similar "Danner's Family Restaurant" in Louisville, the first of several. Danner Foods opened a
fast-food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredient ...
seafood and hamburger concept, Mr. D's Seafood and Hamburgers. Launched on August 15, 1969, 9 stores would open by January 1971, growing to 32 stores by 1975, when Danner's namesake Mr. D's would remove hamburgers from the menu, focusing on seafood entirely and being renamed
Captain D's Captain D's is an American fast casual restaurant chain that specializes in seafood and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. The chain was founded as Mr. D's Seafood and Hamburgers by Raymond L. Danner Sr. on August 15, 1969, in Donelson, ...
, along with franchises being offered. By 1977, over 140 restaurants had opened and "Hamburger" was dropped from the "Captain D's Seafood" name. The number of Captain D's restaurants would quadruple over the following decade. Danner Foods also opened ''Mr. D's Islander Restaurant'' in
Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in t ...
, which offered gourmet dining including seafood, steaks and
Cantonese cuisine Cantonese or Guangdong cuisine, also known as Yue cuisine ( or ) is the cuisine of Guangdong province of China, particularly the provincial capital Guangzhou, and the surrounding regions in the Pearl River Delta including Hong Kong and Maca ...
. By 1971, Danner's company had become the second largest Shoney's franchisee by number of units. That year, Danner Foods bought the Shoney's trademark and assets from Alex Schoenbaum, Danner becoming president and
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
, moving the headquarters and commissary from Charleston to Nashville; Danner also changed the legal name of the companies from ''Shoney's Big Boy Franchising Companies, Inc.'', ''Parkette Commissary, Inc.'' and his ''Danner Foods, Inc.'' to ''Shoney's Big Boy Enterprises, Inc.''.part 2
/ref> Schoenbaum became
Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
of the Board of Directors. As director of a
public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (l ...
, he was forced to close his personally owned Shoney's #1, the original Parkette Drive–in, by 1975.


1976-2006: Leaving Big Boy and bankruptcy

In 1976, five years after being renamed ''Shoney's Big Boy Enterprises, Inc.'', stockholders approved changing the company name to ''Shoney's, Inc.'' Shoney's said this reflected the company's diverse food service brands, but added, "Shoney's is not the southern reincarnation of Frisch's Big Boy." However, as Schoenbaum's wife Betty said, the change would permit Shoney's to continue expansion beyond the boundary of its Big Boy territory. In 1978, the several Danner's Family Restaurants in Louisville, were renamed ''Danner's Towne and Country'' using logos increasingly similar to Shoney's. In 1982, the company opened two Towne and Country restaurants in
Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In ...
, also Frisch's Big Boy territory, but these were co–branded as ''Shoney's Towne and Country''. This caused Frisch's to sue for
unfair competition Unfair may refer to: * Double Taz and Double LeBron James in multiverses ''fair''; unfairness or injustice * ''Unfair'' (drama), Japanese television series * '' Unfair: The Movie'' * Unfair (song), a song by South Korean boy group EXO