Bob's () is a Brazilian fast food chain, founded in 1952 by the American Brazilian tennis champion Bob Falkenburg,

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

tournament winner in 1948. The first store was opened in the Copacabana neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro. It is the first Brazilian fast food chain. In 1972, Falkenburg sold the franchise to the Brazilian Fast Food Corporation (BFFC).

History

Bob, as Falkenburg was known, was the one who introduced the concept of ''fast-food'' in the country, opening the first restaurant of this type in the country in

Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro Copacabana ( , , ) is a Brazilian (neighbourhood) located in the South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is most prominently known for its 4 km (2.5 miles) balneario beach, which is one of the most famous in ...

. In 1972, however, Falkenburg sold the store, which is now controlled by Brazilians, in Guarujá. Today the chain has a varied menu. Bob's is known for serving food with flavors inspired by Brazilian cuisine, such as hamburgers with

picanha ''Picanha'' is a Cut of beef, cut of beef first made popular in Brazil, and later adopted in Portugal. It consists of the final part of the ''biceps femoris muscle, biceps femoris'' muscle, at the bottom of the animal, and its fat cap. In recent y ...

. One of their main and most popular burgers is the Big Bob, made in a similar fashion and to compete with

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

Big Mac The Big Mac is a brand of hamburger sold by the international fast food restaurant chain McDonald's. It was introduced by a Greater Pittsburgh Region, Greater Pittsburgh area Franchising, franchisee in 1967 and expanded nationwide in 1968, and ...

, much like

Burger King Burger King Corporation (BK, stylized in all caps) is an American multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacks ...

's Big King. Although identical in composition to the competing burger, it does not contain

pickles Pickle, pickled or Pickles may refer to: Food * Pickle, a food that has undergone pickling * Pickled cucumber * Pickle, a sweet, vinegary pickled chutney popular in Britain, such as Branston Pickle, also known as "sweet pickle" or "ploughman's ...

, and uses its own sauce. In 2024, they started to sell the sauce separately to most Brazilian supermarkets. Bobs 2000s Logo

The most popular items sold by the franchise are the

milkshakes A milkshake (sometimes simply called a shake) is a sweet beverage made by blending milk, ice cream, and flavorings or sweeteners such as butterscotch, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, or fruit syrup into a thick, sweet, cold mixture. It may a ...

, especially the Ovomaltine flavor. In 2016, Bob's did not renew the exclusivity contract they had with Ovomaltine since 2005, thus they were not allowed to use their name in branding anymore, prompting McDonald's Brazil to acquire exclusive rights to use the name. That, however, did not stop the chain from selling the item, as long as it was named differently.

Business model

In 1984 Bob's started a

franchising Franchising is based on a marketing concept which can be adopted by an organization as a strategy for business expansion. Where implemented, a franchisor licenses some or all of its know-how, procedures, intellectual property, use of its busines ...

system, opening new stores in Vitória, Espírito Santo. Since then, Bob's has been expanding within Brazil and internationally. Today, there are about 811 stores in Brazil, of which about 320 are franchises. At one time, international stores were opened in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

( Carcavelos, Algés and Bragança) as well as in Chile and

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

, however since 2021 the company's website shows that they have closed.

Other brands

Bob's Shakes, formerly known as "Bob’s Sorvetes" (Bob's Ice Cream), sells frozen desserts such as ice cream, milkshakes, and pies. It was rebranded to the current name in 2009 due to the increased popularity of its milkshakes compared to regular ice cream. Bexpress by Bob's offers half-finished and ready sandwiches to be heated in the oven, which can be eaten in or carried out.

References

External links

Official website
{{Food chains in Brazil Fast-food chains of Brazil Fast-food hamburger restaurants Fast-food franchises Food and drink companies based in Rio de Janeiro (city) Restaurants established in 1952 Brazilian brands Hamburger restaurants 1952 establishments in Brazil

History

Business model

Other brands

See also

References

External links