Alex Schoenbaum
| Alexander Z. Schoenbaum | |
|---|---|
Alex Schoenbaum framed by a Big Boy statue
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| Born |
August 8, 1915 Petersburg, Virginia |
| Died | December 6, 1996 (aged 81) Sarasota, Florida |
| Monuments | Schoenbaum Hall (Ohio State), Schoenbaum Library (University of Charleston), Schoenbaum Family Enrichment Center (Charleston, WV) |
| Residence | Charleston, West Virginia; Sarasota, Florida |
| Alma mater | Ohio State University |
| Occupation | Restaurateur, entrepreneur, philanthropist |
| Known for | Shoney's Restaurants |
| Spouse(s) | Betty Schoenbaum |
| Parents |
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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 the Shoney's restaurant chain in the southeastern United States, most of which were originally franchised Big Boy locations.
Schoenbaum grew up in West Virginia where as a boy he worked in his father's bowling establishments in Charleston and Huntington.
He played tackle at Ohio State University from 1936-1938. He received an honorable mention as AP All-Western Conference in 1936 and as Grantland Rice All-America honorable mention and AP All-Western Conference second team in 1937 and 1938. He was a 7th round selection (55th overall pick) of the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1939 NFL Draft.
Following his sporting career, Schoenbaum went on to found the Shoney's restaurant chain, a regional organization which is one of the largest businesses to have originated in West Virginia and was at one time one of the largest family owned restaurant chains in the United States. In 1947 Schoenbaum opened his first drive-in restaurant, Parkette, in Charleston. In 1952, Schoenbaum obtained the regional marketing rights to the Big Boy trademark, two years later Parkette being renamed Shoney's. Besides being an operator, Schoenbaum also aggressively subfranchised to others, many as Shoney's and some in the 1950s using their own name. In 1971, Schoenbaum and one such subfranchisee, Nashville operator Raymond L. Danner merged their companies to form Shoney's Big Boy Enterprises, Inc. When Shoney's original franchise agreement with Big Boy expired in 1976, Big Boy Enterprises was dropped from the name. In the 1980s Shoney's opened two non Big Boy restaurants (called Shoney's Towne and Country) outside of its assigned Big Boy territory, leading another Big Boy franchisee to sue for trademark infringement. In 1984, Shoney's–now the largest regional franchisee–left the Big Boy system removing over a third of the American units. Shoney's prevailed in the trademark suit, the final appeal adjudicated after separation from Big Boy.
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