Bob Evans (restaurateur)

Bob Evans (May 30 1918 - June 21 2007) was an American restauranteur. He is best known for the American restaurant chain bearing his name, although he also founded Mimi's Café and Owens Restaurants.

Early life and career

Born in Sugar Ridge, Ohio to Stanley L. Evans and Elizabeth Lewis Evans, he married his childhood sweetheart, Jewell, with whom he had six children, and they moved to a farm near Rio Grande, Ohio.

Evans began operating a small 14-stool truck stop in Gallipolis, Ohio. Having trouble finding quality sausages to serve to his trucker customers, he decided to follow the adage that "when you want something done right, do it yourself."Angel Jennings, [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/22/business/22evans.html Bob Evans, 89, Restaurateur With Chain Built on Sausage, Dies] , "The New York Times", June 22, 2007.] Using hogs raised on his own farm in Gallia County, he began producing patties and links using the hog's best part instead of the scraps commonly used to make sausage. The new sausages were very successful, leading Evans to sell the sausages at his restaurant and other stores; in 1953, he formed Bob Evans Farms with five friends and relatives. The restaurant continued to grow, going as far as Florida to sell its homestyle treats.

Bob Evans the restaurant

In the 1960s, the first Bob Evans restaurant opened in Rio Grande, becoming the first in a chain of restaurants that made up the Bob Evans Farms, Inc. At the time of his death, there were 579 Bob Evans restaurants in 18 states, with the company also owning 115 Mimi's Café casual restaurants in 20 states, and the former Owens Restaurants chain in Texas. (The Owens stores in Texas were shut down in late 2006).

Accomplishments and community support

Although Evans retired from the company in 1986, he remained actively involved in his community and numerous causes. Evans encouraged local farmers to use more efficient livestock grazing techniques that are better for the environment.

He also promoted preservation of the wildlife and support groups like the Future Farmers of America (FFA) and 4-H. He served for a number of years on the Ohio Board of Regents and was an important figure in the founding of the Ohio Appalachian Center for Higher Education in Portsmouth, Ohio.

In 2005, Evans was honored by FAO as an inaugural I'm a Child of Appalachia honoree for his philanthropic efforts, entrepreneurial success and support of improved access to higher education in the region. The I'm a Child of Appalachia campaign uses individual success stories to promote greater investment in the region to increase student access to post-secondary education. [ [http://www.ffao.org/news/index.php?item=358 I'm a Child of Appalachia] ]

Death and burial

He died in 2007 while being treated at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, of complications of a stroke. He was recuperating from pneumonia when he suffered the fatal attack. Bob Evans was interred in a private ceremony on his farm in Rio Grande, Ohio.cite web|url=http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/8194607.html|title="Bob Evans' Funeral"|accessdate=2007-06-26|author=Randy Yohe|publisher=WSAZ.com]

Upon learning of his death Ohio governor Ted Strickland remarked:

"Bob Evans was a true original. His life's work was bringing the warmth, hospitality and good food of Ohio to rest of the nation. We here in Ohio are all proud of him and we are all deeply saddened by his passing." [ [http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2007/06/18/daily24.html Bizjournals.com] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1850 Ohio History Central]