Old burger icon Kip’s Big Boy plunked down in East Dallas

by Tiney Ricciardi

• Tweet
• Email
• Print
• 3 Comments

See him smile at the northwest corner of Abrams and Trammel.

DALLAS — One of the original, antique statues from Kip’s Big Boy burger chain is currently on display in East Dallas.

The 7-foot-tall icon with a pompadour and checkered overalls holds his double cheeseburger proudly at the corner of Abrams Road and Trammel Drive in Gary Isett’s front yard. Owner of White Rock Landscaping Isett said he was doing a job in North Dallas when he noticed the piece sitting in a neighboring backyard.

After some healthy haggling, Islett landed Big Boy "for a good deal." (He requested that the price not be printed.) Granted, this Big Boy isn’t in the best condition, though he arguably looks great for his age — Isett estimated Big Boy is more than 30 years old. Isett plans to have Big Boy restored.

Big Boy is displayed in a star-shaped garden on Isett's property. It once held a decorated Christmas tree, then a Buddha. “When I found Big Boy I said, ‘Oh hell no. This is getting replaced,’” Isett said. “Buddha came down and Big Boy went up.”

Kip's had several locations around Dallas through the '60s, '70s, and '80s, though the brand originated in the 1930s. The installation of Big Boy brought both joy and nostalgia long-time Lakewood resident Bill Ellison, who remembers frequenting the burger joint after high school football games, always running into someone he knew. He caught wind of Big Boy’s reappearance from a friend and, once he saw it for himself, the memories came rushing back.

“[Kip’s] was certainly iconic to people in the neighborhood,” said Ellison. When he went to snap photos of the statue, several other people, including two policemen, turned around to take pictures with their phones. “I never understood why it went out of business," Ellison said. "The food was really good.”

Follow @tineywristwatch

Tweet