Iconic L.A. Diner Bob’s Big Boy to Return to Nevada

Early word on a surprising expansion to Nevada that holds out the prospect of an iconic Big Boy statue someday heading closer to the Strip.

Heading to the northwestern corner of Clark County, paperwork has been filed to build a Bob’s Big Boy diner in Indian Springs, right on US Highway 95, approximately 45 miles and 40 minutes from downtown. The project has already allocated a substantial $514,220 in estimated construction costs.

The diner will join a proposed 17,300-square-foot combination casino, gas station, and store overseen by Herbst IS Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of the ubiquitous Terrible Herbst empire. In 2018, the company launched its Road House travel center off Interstate 15 in Jean, Nevada, adding another famed casual burger brand White Castle.

Still to be announced by the operators, or current franchise owners at the Big Boy Restaurant Group, both Reno and Las Vegas have previously hosted half-hearted copies of the diners, but the shuttered concepts were operated by temporary license holders, JB’s Big Boy.

Created in 1936 and growing to 240 diners by 1989, the retro chain has since shrunk to five Southern California locations, including the oldest surviving example, a 71-year-old Burbank coffee shop.

The name is synonymous with enormous outdoor Big Boy statues holding a namesake “double deck” burger, Streamline Moderne-style architecture and thick old-fashioned milkshakes.

Yet to hint at a possible opening date, the news follows the reveal last May that L.A. legend The Hat would be bringing its “World Famous Pastrami” to Spring Valley sometime this year. The latest paperwork for the site at 6239 S. Rainbow Blvd. suggests the build is currently on hold.

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