Big Boy Restaurant Group to open ‘flagship’ in Royal Oak
Location is part of four more to be opened this year
Demolition is underway for the former Pasquale’s restaurant on Woodward in Royal Oak, making way for a new Big Boy Restaurant.
The family-owned Pasquale’s restaurant has been shuttered for nearly five years.
A new “flagship” Big Boy Restaurant is being built on the large parcel of property at 31555 Woodward, according to Southfieldbased Big Boy Restaurant Group.
“The goal is to build a new flagship store for our iconic brand on this great site with excellent history,” said Tamer Afr, Big Boy Restaurant Group CEO. “We’ve recently built and opened another beautiful new location in Fraser, Michigan, in front of Big Boy Arena, which has been a tremendous success and we expect the Royal Oak location to be amongst the strongest stores in the company.”
The property is located on Woodard between 13 Mile and Normandy roads.
Doug Hedges, Royal Oak city planner, said the last plans submitted for the property were in June 2021. Site plans include constructing a 4,503-square-foot Big Boy restaurant with a drive-through.
More recently, the restaurant group opened a location in Fraser just outside the Big Boy Arena.
On Monday, a Big Boy restaurant opened on
Ann Arbor Road in Plymouth in front of the new Henry Ford Health center, according to Frank Alessandrini, the restaurant group’s vice president of operations.
The Royal Oak Big Boy is part of four more stores expected to open this year, including ones in Lansing, Bay City, and Ludington, according to the company.
“We are hopeful to have it (Royal Oak) opened and operating by quarter four of this year,” Alessandrini said.
Pasquale’s owners announced in March 2019 that after more than 60 years in business, the restaurant would shutter for good the following month. The restaurant was noted for its pasta and pizza, was a family-owned spot, and a mainstay in Royal Oak, sitting on prime Woodward Avenue property.
In August 2019, David Crawford, Big Boy Restaurant Group CEO at the time, told Crain’s
Detroit Business that the company signed a 50-year ground lease in June with the DelGiudice family, who own the restaurant property. Crawford’s group bought Big Boy last from the late radio broadcasting magnate Robert Liggett Jr.
A ground lease, according to the National Association of Realtors, is when a tenant owns or can build on land but does not own the land.
In an interview at that time with the Free Press, Crawford said he was thrilled that the DelGiudices agreed to the deal.
“I am excited that the family allowed us … after everybody was trying to get that property,” Crawford said. “It’s an amazing property and an amazing part of the metro area.”
Big Boy Restaurants began in 1936 in Glendale, California, first as Bob’s Pantry, according to the company’s website. The restaurant is known for its Big Boy, double-decker burger, and Slim Jim sandwiches. It is also known for its iconic “Big Boy” statue holding up the Big Boy Burger.
Across the country, 58 Big Boy locations are a blend of franchise and company-owned stores, with the the bulk of them in Michigan. The Royal Oak location, according to Alessandrini, is expected to have a buffet, beer, and wine and looking to have a pickup or drive-through window, though plans have not yet been finalized.