Back in 2021, beloved restaurant Big Boy returned to Wisconsin for the first time in 26 years. An ownership group called Wisconsin Big Boy opened a location in Germantown at N116W15841 Main St., delighting Big Boy diehards and Big Boy newbies alike. But last October, the group announced plans to sell the Big Boy building in Germantown and close the location in order to open a new Big Boy 10 miles south in Sussex.
The relocated restaurant—which is called “Big Boy Burger & Sweets” to emphasize volume of ice cream and sweet treats available on the menu—opened at N63W23675 Main St. in Sussex in December of last year. Just over six months later, that Big Boy (currently the state’s only one) will also close. Today, a representative of Wisconsin Big Boy announced on a Big Boy fan group on Facebook that the short-lived Sussex location will be closing down “as of Sunday, July 14.” According to a letter posted on the page, the decision was made in order to dedicate more kitchen space to its affiliated restaurant, The GOAT.
It’s not all bad news, though! The letter also states “Big Boy will re-open in Wisconsin Dells sometime this fall” and that current ownership intends to sell its franchise tag so that Wisconsin Big Boy will be able to continue existing.
Even though Wisconsin will once again be without a Big Boy, it sounds like it’s not going to be another 26-year absence. Still, if you’re looking to get one last taste of Big Boy in the metro Milwaukee area, you have until this weekend to do so. We’ll keep you posted on the status of the Wisconsin Dells location as information becomes available. Hopefully it’ll be near Wisconsin’s last remaining Ponderosa.
UPDATE: Oh yeah, we totally forgot we spotted some Big Boy statues when we visited the Dells in June, outside (and on top of) the closed Myrt & Lucy’s Chat & Chew at 701 Broadway Ave. It appears that will be the new Wisconsin Big Boy. So there you go!
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