Family Restaurant Chain Big Boy Is Plotting an Unlikely Comeback

Big Boy is making moves again in Michigan

Despite several high-profile restaurant closures in the last several years and the waning relevance of casual chains, family-style dining icon Big Boy is attempting a comeback under new ownership. Big Boy Restaurant Group LLC is aiming to add more restaurants to bring its total to 100 in two years and wants to double that number in five to seven years, according to Crain’s. The company hired former Chapman House chef Chris Cason to revamp the menu. The site of Pasquale’s in Royal Oak is set to be demolished and replaced by a new Big Boy Restaurant. A Buddy Pizza may also land in the location.

Farmington Hills restaurant Ginopolis departs in August

Metro Detroit restaurant for the stars, Ginopolis is preparing to close its doors permanently on Saturday, August 17, the Detroit Free Press reports. The restaurant debuted in 1982 and became a nightlife hotspot that landed it on a Playboy magazine list for Top 10 Hottest Singles Bars. However, Ginopolis’s real legacy was its Montgomery Inn ribs. The ribs attracted high-profile Hollywood stars such as Elizabeth Taylor and Frank Sinatra, who once ordered them shipped to Palm Springs. Bob Hope and Muhammad Ali also dined at the restaurant.

Chicago tiki bar pops up in downtown Detroit

Wright & Company is marking its fifth anniversary in downtown Detroit by hosting a pop-up from one of America’s best bars, Lost Lake tiki bar in Chicago. The Eater Award-winning cocktailer Paul McGee and his team will be at Wright & Company’s bar from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday, August 18 with a special menu takeover.

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