The first Fat Boy Barbecue Stand opened in California in 1925, selling oak-fired barbecue pork and beef sandwiches so generous and delicious that they were called Fat Boys.

In the following decades this little food stand in San Francisco, on the corner of 46^th Street and Sloat Boulevard, transformed into a chain of ten “barbecue cabins.” With the growing popularity of the motor car, they became drive-ins.

The menus featured a winking, well-dressed and well-padded schoolboy, said to be the original Fat Boy.

This 1940s menu features a hand stamped notice, alerting customers of a shortage of food items due to World War II.

We’re not sure when Fat Boy restaurants disappeared – perhaps in the 1970s. If anyone has information on this, we’d love to hear from you.

Courtesy Private Collection.