Elby's Restaurants by Drew Techner

From 1956 to 2000, the Boury brothers of Wheeling, West Virginia operated a restaurant chain in mostly West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Numbers in first column represents chronological order of stores opening.

Numbers in the second column reflect the actual unit number or the number of Elby’s in operation at the time according to Elby’s ads and newspaper articles.

	Unit	Town	Address	Date opened	Notes	seating	Owner
1	1	Wheeling	Rt. 40 680 National Road opposite Linsly Institute (Woodsdale section) Theda Place?	10/22/56	Others: downtown, 20th & Chapline. Plans to tear down for parking 2/2/77 article Also 12th & Chapline	38 feet on each side. space for 60 cars.
2	2	Moundsville, WV	Route 2, Lafayette Ave.	First referenced Feb 5, 1959 Wheeling Intelligencer (National Road unit referred to as No. 1 Actual Moundsville unit listed April 15, 1959.
3	3	Morristown, Ohio	Route 40	3/28/60	Closed after fire in 1965. The unit formerly located in the Morristown, Ohio area 2/2/70 article.	inside capacity of 60 diners and lot capacity of 125 autos.
4	4	Wheeling	12th and Chapline. Where Lanos Kraus used to be, yes it was formerly up 12th Street across from the former Court Theatre	12/27/61 private showing 1/17/62 new Elby's visited by Big Boy founder Bob Wain. (1/18/62 Wheeling Intelligencer)
5	5	Weirton	Freedom Way near intersections rts. 2 and 22	1/12/1965	$350,000	150 indoors, 350 in-car service
6	6	St. Clairsville	Betw. I-70 and US-40. Banfield Rd. exit I-70. Adjacent to the Skyline Courts Motel	2/67 (4/6/71 article) 1971: 50% expansion to 200 seats with 900 additional square foot floor space.	$385,000 Replaced the Morristown, OH unit.
7		Edwardsville	50 S. Wyoming Ave (Narrows Rd.) Route 11	9/27/66			Marvin Franklin Enterprises, Inc.
8		Erie	38th & Peach (East Side)	Opened 1967. Opened 1967 (7/27/71 article). Appears May 1968	Unit #301
9		Lemoyne, Pa	Lemoyne 1249 or 1300 Market St. Opposite West Shore Plaza	Appears 3/5/69			Davenport Enterprise, Inc.
10		Gettysburg	259 Steinwehr Ave.. Adjacent to the National Civil War Wax Museum.	5/19/69 1990: Shoney's		150, Parking for 110 cars	Eric and Rudy Uberman of Bethesda, MD. (Chaim M. president Wax Museum) 1978: Chaim Uberman died. Took over by sons Rudy and Eric
11	11	Erie	12th near Pittsburgh (West side)	Opened 11/17/69 Construction 6/69	$450,000 Early American motif of natural stone from Georgia	150 #302
12	12	Steubenville's West End	4100 blk Sunset Blvd.	12/03/1969	$450,000	150, Parking 110 cars
13	13	Scranton	Rts. 6 & 11 Northern Blvd. North Chinchilla - South Abington Twp	12/10/1969		152	Marvin Franklin Enterprises, Inc.
14	14	Harrisburg	4401 Jonestown Rd (route 22)	3/03/1970			Davenport Enterprise, Inc.
15	15	Wilkes-Barre	400 Kidder St. (East End)	11/10/1970		160	Marvin Franklin Enterprises, Inc.
16	16	Cambridge, OH	Southgate Parkway with immed. Access I-70	12/15/70
17	17	Lancaster, Pa	US route 222 at US rt. 30 (1683 Oregon Pike) across from the Lancaster Shopping Center	Opened June 1 1971. Active thru May 31, 1985 looking for fulltime cook.	$25,970 Manheim Twp. Tax assessment (1973). March 1983: granted liquor license.	155 Colonial design with natural stone on exterior	Operated by R-D Management Corp. (Inc. of Reading, Pa.) (The Rowe Corp., Philip D Rowe, Jr. CEO). Century Foods, Inc. owned by Philip D. Rowe, Jr.
18	18	Erie	Fairmount Parkway at Broad St., East Erie	11/09/1971	$450,000	131
19	19	Zanesville	1542 Maple Ave. (Ohio rt. 60 north)	1/25/72 opened as a newly-remodeled restaurant. Remodeled 8/87	220 foot frontage Maple ave.	150
20		Dallas	Route 309 and 415	May-72			Marvin Franklin Enterprises, Inc.
21	20	Meadville, Pa	Smock Hwy 40 mi. south of Erie	2/11/72 construction began. Company formed 8/25/72	1-/2 acre site. 200 foot frontage along Smock Highway	155
22		W. Hazleton	Route 93 across from Laurel Mall (564 Susquehanna Ave.) Hazle Twp	Aug-74			Marvin Franklin Enterprises, Inc.
23	23	New Martinsville	New Martinsville Plaza in Steelton on route 2	12/5/72 Store #20		136 140
24	24	Lancaster	1550 Columbia Ave. (Columbia Pike) and Stone Mill Rd.	12/72 (week of December 29th)	1/26/72 $240,000 mortgage. 3/25/77 Sheriff Sale $242,464.84 debt.		American Leisure Services, Inc. Century Foods, Inc. owned by Philip D. Rowe, Jr.
25	25	Marietta, Ohio	Ohio rt. 7 off I-77 (exit no. 1)	5/31/73	25th unit: 6/1/73 Wheeling Intelligencer article
26		Bloomsburg (Scott Twp.)	Just off I-80 at the Light Street exit. R.D. 2. Exit 35 off route 80, route 487	May 1973. Opening announced in 7/31/73 article.	Closed after shotgun robbery) Went bankrupt?	150. Parking for 200 cars. 10 acre site.	American Leisure Services, Inc.
27	26	Moundsville, WV	Rt. 2	11/25/73
28	27	Dover	1047 N. Tuscarawas av. (Rts. 39 and I-77) Just off I-77 (Dover Exit 15)	3/05/1974	$450,000 incl. $23,357 sewer tap-on City of Dover. #28 3/8/74 article	101 or 160 6/5/84 article Prototype Four being built
29	27	Harrisburg	Carlisle Pike	3/11/1974	#27 3/8/74 article
30		Dunmore	I-81 and Blakely St. 706 N. Blakely St.	3/18/74	#29 3/8/74 article	160	Marvin Franklin Enterprises, Inc.
31	30	Steubenville	Ft. Steuben Mall	Jun-74
32		Mechanicsburg	6055 Carlisle Pike. At the corner of Skyport Rd and the Carlisle Pike (or 5506 Skyport Rd.)	2/74 (2/16/74 article)	1st anniversary 4/18/75 article)
33		E. Harrisburg	Opposite Marriot	Appears Dec. 1980	Phone 939-9541		Davenport Enterprise, Inc.
34		E. Stroudsburg	1215 W Main St. (intersection of I-80 and W. Main St.)	Opening soon 9/19/74			American Leisure Services, Inc.
35	34	Bridgeport, OH	Ohio rt. 7 betw. Martin's Ferry and Bridgeport	May-75
36	35	Columbus, OH		11/06/1975	6/17/75: 4 restaurants purchased from Consolidated Food Corp.	4 units: 5186 E. Main St., 4300 Karl Rd., 2150 Dublin Granville Rd. (Rt. 161), 2180 Henderson Rd.
37	36	Columbus, OH		12/06/1975	L-K Townhouse Restaurants
38	37	Columbus, OH		Nov-75
39	38	Columbus, OH		12/26/ 75
40		Colonial Park	Opposite Colonial Park Plaza				Davenport Enterprise, Inc.
41		East York	145 Memory Lane	Dec-75	$200,000 March 1976 hepatitis scare.	180	Davenport Enterprise, Inc. (Suburban Corp. 1/12/74 and 6/6/74 articles)
42		South York	Queensgate Shopping Mall 2801 Springwood Rd.	Opened 8/19/76 Closed 1984: reopening as Elby's 9/1/91 lease not renewed because current specifications for Bob's Big Boy restaurants call for the facilities to be free-standing and close to an interstate highway.			Davenport Enterprise, Inc.
43		New Cumberland	I-83 Exit 18A (Sheraton Dr. and Limekiln Rd.)	Jun-77			Davenport Enterprise, Inc.
44	42	Williamsport	1716 East 3rd St.	2//8/1977 (3/3/77 article) Closed and became Denny's 9/23/93		Free-standing building	Restaurant Management, Inc. 1993: Michael G. Boury III and Mary Boury of Williamsport
45		State College	1661 S. Atherton St. (S. Atherton St. and Branch Rd.)	1/03/1977	Elby's Hotel located behind it.
46	43	Greensburg, Pa.	Westmoreland Mall	June July 1977
		Columbus, OH	Westerville Square	Fall 77	Opened?
47	45	Wheeling, WV	Thrift Drug Store 12th & Market Sts.	10/20/77 Reopened	Serves as our Flagship Restaurant
48		Lycoming Mall	Muncy, Pa.	July 1978 (mall opened).	Now 44 units 3/20/78 article		Michael G. Boury III of Williamsport
49	43	St. Clairsville	Ohio Valley Mall	12/78 Elby's Good Time Food Number 43
	44
50	45	10th & Main St. Wheeling, WV	Elby's Wheeling Inn	8/16/79	45 units 8/7/79 article
51	46	Washington, Pa.	Washington Mall next door neighbor (I-70-79 exit 7s)	9/30/79
52		West Mifflin, Pa.	Century III Mall	10/79 perc Rich Bommer 1/80	#504
53	47	Zanesville 2455 West Pike	US 40 west of Zanesville at Exit 151 of I-70 (Falls Township). Near Sho-Wi Motel (1981: Boury owned motel and planned new hotel on site using ZIP bonds)	2/21/80 Zanesville Industrial Program (ZIP) financing ($900,000 industrial revenue bonds)	$900,000 - $1 million. Number 47 in 2/22/80 and 2/28/85 articles. 3.71 acre site. Remodeled 8/87 9/10/88: employees want traffic light at 40 West and Rehl Rd.	170 5,000 sq. ft. with parking and sewage treatment plant
54		Chambersburg	US 30 and I-80. Next to I-81, Exit 6, 30 Falling Spring Rd.	4/15/80	$1 million building and land part financed Chambersburg Trust Co.	155	Eric and Rudy Uberman, National Souvenir Center management
55		McMurray, Pa	Rt. 19 & Hidden Valley Rd.	4/20/80
56		Allentown	King's Shopping Center. Airport Rd. south of Rt. 22	Opened late April 1980. Closed April 1988	$1 million	Closed April 1988
57	54	Dunmore, Pa.	O'Neill Highway and University Drive (I-81 Exit 55E)	6/24/80 8/23/85 slip and fall lawsuit 6/13/88: mother and two-year old have glass in cherry sundae. Lawsuit.		173
58	55	Murrysville	Route 22	1/07/1980	$805,000 Elby's purchased Harold's Place in Murrysville 9/23/79 Pittsburgh Press article
59		Altoona	Pleasant Valley Rd.	1/09/1980
60	56	Newark, Ohio	1414 North 21st St. on the corner of Deo Dr. near Indian Valley Shopping Center	Jul-80		160
61	57	Mt. Lebanon	1535 Washington Rd. Washington & Connor Rds (on route 19 one mile north of South Hills Village. Just across from Kaufmann's)	12/24/80	More than $1 million. 5,480 square-foot California-style	170
62		Camp Hill	3556 Old Gettysburg Rd. Opposite Pomeroys	Appears 2/4/81 York Dispatch paper			Davenport Enterprise, Inc.
63		Hanover	1221 Carlisle St.	8/05/1981	Former Hanover Diner	150	Eric and Rudy Uberman.
64		Wilkes-Barre	Wyoming Valley Mall	12/01/1981
65	58	East Latrobe	Route 30 East west of Latrobe (Unity Twp.)	5/18/82	#59 5/18/82 article #58 7/22/82 ad.	160 165 Approx. 5,000 sq. ft.
66	61	Johnstown		Apr-82	#61 12/2/82 article
67	62	Hummels Wharf (probably same unit as Selinsgrove)	465-foot frontage on highway between routes 11-15 and the Susquehanna Mall	11/15/82 Closed and became Denny's 9/23/93	$750,000 61st Elby's 11/16/82 article (Hummel's Wharf) 62nd 12/16/82 article (Selinsgrove)	162 165 $4 million worth of equipment.	Michael G. Boury III and Mary Boury of Williamsport
68	68	Heath, Ohio	Hebron Road (Ohio 79)	8/23/83
69	59	Columbus	Sinclair Rd.	Sep-83
70	70	Wilkes-Barre	744 Kidder St. across from Wyoming Valley Mall	10/25/83	$1 million 3/84 revision for traffic signals on route 115 3/6/94 theft $6,000 safe. 4/20/99 fire damage	186 Prototype Three, 150 seating (6/5/84 article)
71		Summerdale		soon May 4 18, 1983 York Dispatch papers. Opening verified by Michael Zivanovich
72	88	Allentown	South Whitehall Twp. Village West Shopping Center, Cedar Crest and Tilghman Sts.	12/06/1983	$1 million 88 restaurant chain	158 Prototype Three, 150 seating (6/5/84 article)
73		Bridgeville, Pa	Route 50 Washington Pike Chartiers Valley Shopping Center	12/8/83 opening son
74	75	Greensburg	Rt. 119	Jan-84
75	76	Clarks Summit	Rts. 6-11 S. Abington Twp.	5/21/84 Was delayed three years by Franklin's lawsuit and appeal.	More than $1 million. Began construction May 1981 with late fall opening scheduled 5/13/81 article 7/23/89 three drunk male juveniles stole Big Boy statue. Recovered.	168 California-style Prototype Three, 150 seating (6/5/84 article)
76		New Philadelphia, OH	Just off I-77	Nov-85		178 Prototype Four
77		West Lebanon Twp	2125 West Cumberland St. (on route 422)	3/19/85	Now 66th Elby's 5/5/85 article. 1991:Big Boy statue stolen and recovered. 3/93: statue stolen by teens and recovered in quarry 8/96 Big Boy statute "missing" 1/99 Big Boy head stolen and recovered.	178 Protoype Four
78		Clarksburg, WV	Eastpointe Shopping Center on Route 50 and I-79	May - June 1985. Grand opening announced in 6/9/85 Pittsburgh Press	Joins the 65 other Elby's Restaurants in Ohio, W. Va. and Pennsylvania.
79	67	Washington, Pa.	Chestnut St. I-70 exit 4	7/14/85
80	67	Bethlehem	Route 191 north of the Lehigh Valley Thruway	8/20/85 Vacant 2001.	$1.2 million #67 8/20/85 article	176 - 178 19.2 acre site east side of Nazareth Pike.
81		Manheim Pike	1370 Manheim Pike (south corner Manheim Pike and West Roseville Rd. off Route 30	8/27/85	9/8/85 Sunday News ad: the former Elby's on Oregon Pike was owned by a franchised operator	2.2 acre site. 7,000 square feet. New Protoype design.	Boury Inc.
82	67	Washington, Pa	On West Chestnut St. just off I-70 at Exit 4	12/09/1985	$1.3 million Site of demolished Howard Johnson's restaurant	182 - 185 California-style with atrium
83	75	Monroeville	2725 Mosside Blvd.	8/20/86 #75 8/21/86 article	Construction delayed because of homeowner lawsuit. 1993 sexual harassment. Closed Aug. 2000.	$275,000 land purchase. Prototype IV Design
84		Parkersburg, WV		Planned to open end 1987 for 75 units (8/7/86 article)
85		Dale City, MD		Planned to open end 1987 for 75 units (8/7/86 article)
86		Bloomsburg	I-80 at Exit 35	4/20/1987 Closed and became Denny's 9/23/93	$1 million. Previously Your Family Restaurant. Same building as previous Elby's?	149	Michael G. Boury III and Mary Boury of Williamsport
87		Route 22 west of R&J Motors, adjacent to the Eastern edge of the Lebanon Valley Mall		Planned January 1985. 1/27/85 article
91	6	Wheeling	20th and Chapline	August 20, 1965	0	0	0
88	?	Erie	Schultz Rd.Off Interstate 90 and Route 97.	Opened 1985
89	?	Columbus, Ohio	West Broad Street. Lincoln Village Plaza	?
90	?	Cranberry Township (Pittsburgh area)	20249 Rte 19 Cranberry Township	?	Was torn down to put up the NexTier Bank, on 19 in front of Walmart.
90	?	Cranberry Township (Pittsburgh area)	20249 Rte 19 Cranberry Township	?	Was torn down to put up the NexTier Bank, on 19 in front of Walmart.
55		McMurray, Pa	Rt. 19 & Hidden Valley Rd.	4/20/80
56		Allentown	King's Shopping Center. Airport Rd. south of Rt. 22	Opened late April 1980. Closed April 1988	$1 million	Closed April 1988
57	54	Dunmore, Pa.	O'Neill Highway and University Drive (I-81 Exit 55E)	6/24/80		173
				8/23/85 slip and fall lawsuit
				6/13/88: mother and two-year old have glass in cherry sundae. Lawsuit.
58	55	Murrysville	Route 22	Jul-80	$805,000
					Elby's purchased Harold's Place in Murrysville 9/23/79 Pittsburgh Press article
59		Altoona	Pleasant Valley Rd.	Sep-80
60	56	Newark, Ohio	1414 North 21st St. on the corner of Deo Dr. near Indian Valley Shopping Center	Jul-80		160
61	57	Mt. Lebanon	1535 Washington Rd. Washington & Connor Rds (on route 19 one mile north of South Hills Village. Just across from Kaufmann's)	12/24/80	More than $1 million. 5,480 square-foot California-style	170
62		Camp Hill	3556 Old Gettysburg Rd. Opposite Pomeroys	Appears 2/4/81 York Dispatch paper			Davenport Enterprise, Inc.
63		Hanover	1221 Carlisle St.	8/05/1981	Former Hanover Diner	150	Eric and Rudy Uberman.
64		Wilkes-Barre	Wyoming Valley Mall	12/01/1981
65	58	East Latrobe	Route 30 East - west of Latrobe (Unity Twp.)	5/18/82	#59 5/18/82 article	160 - 165
					#58 7/22/82 ad.	Approx. 5,000 sq. ft.
66	61	Johnstown		12/04/1982	#61 12/2/82 article
67	62	Hummels Wharf (probably same unit as Selinsgrove)	465-foot frontage on highway between routes 11-15 and the Susquehanna Mall	11/15/82 Closed and became Denny's 9/23/93	$750,000	162 - 165	Michael G. Boury III and Mary Boury of Williamsport
					61st Elby's 11/16/82 article (Hummel's Wharf)	$4 million worth of equipment.
					62nd 12/16/82 article (Selinsgrove)
68	68	Heath, Ohio	Hebron Road (Ohio 79)	8/23/83
69	59	Columbus	Sinclair Rd.	Sep-83
70	70	Wilkes-Barre	744 Kidder St. across from Wyoming Valley Mall	10/25/83	$1 million	186
					3/84 revision for traffic signals on route 115	Prototype Three, 150 seating (6/5/84 article)
					3/6/94 theft $6,000 safe.
					4/20/99 fire damage
71		Summerdale		soon May 4 18, 1983 York Dispatch papers. Opening verified by Michael Zivanovich
72	88	Allentown	South Whitehall Twp. Village West Shopping Center, Cedar Crest and Tilghman Sts.	12/06/1983	$1 million 88 restaurant chain	158
						Prototype Three, 150 seating (6/5/84 article)
73		Bridgeville, Pa	Route 50 Washington Pike	12/8/83 opening son
			Chartiers Valley Shopping Center
74	75	Greensburg	Rt. 119	Jan-84
75	76	Clarks Summit	Rts. 6-11 S. Abington Twp.	5/21/84	More than $1 million.	168
				Was delayed three years by Franklin's lawsuit and appeal.	Began construction May 1981 with late fall opening scheduled 5/13/81 article	California-style
					7/23/89 three drunk male juveniles stole Big Boy statue. Recovered.	Prototype Three, 150 seating (6/5/84 article)
76		New Philadelphia, OH	Just off I-77	3/11/1985		178
						Prototype Four
77		West Lebanon Twp	2125 West Cumberland St. (on route 422)	3/19/85	Now 66th Elby's 5/5/85 article.	178
					1991:Big Boy statue stolen and recovered.	Protoype Four
					3/93: statue stolen by teens and recovered in quarry
					8/96 Big Boy statute 'missing'
					1/99 Big Boy head stolen and recovered.
78		Clarksburg, WV	Eastpointe Shopping Center on Route 50 and I-79	May - June 1985. Grand opening announced in 6/9/85 Pittsburgh Press	Joins the 65 other Elby's Restaurants in Ohio, W. Va. and Pennsylvania.
79	67	Washington, Pa.	Chestnut St. I-70 exit 4	7/14/85
80	67	Bethlehem	Route 191 north of the Lehigh Valley Thruway	8/20/85	$1.2 million	176 - 178
				Vacant 2001.	#67 8/20/85 article	19.2 acre site east side of Nazareth Pike.
81		Manheim Pike	1370 Manheim Pike (south corner Manheim Pike and West Roseville Rd. off Route 30	8/27/85	9/8/85 Sunday News ad: the former Elby's on Oregon Pike was owned by a franchised operator	2.2 acre site.	Boury Inc.
						7,000 square feet. New Protoype design.
82	67	Washington, Pa	On West Chestnut St. just off I-70 at Exit 4	12/09/1985	$1.3 million	182 - 185
					Site of demolished Howard Johnson's restaurant	California-style with atrium
83	75	Monroeville	2725 Mosside Blvd.	8/20/86	Construction delayed because of homeowner lawsuit. 1993 sexual harassment. Closed Aug. 2000.	$275,000 land purchase. Prototype IV Design
				#75 8/21/86 article
84		Parkersburg, WV		Planned to open end 1987 for 75 units (8/7/86 article)
85		Dale City, MD		Planned to open end 1987 for 75 units (8/7/86 article)
86		Bloomsburg	I-80 at Exit 35	4/20/1987	$1 million. Previously Your Family Restaurant. Same building as previous Elby's?	149	Michael G. Boury III and Mary Boury of Williamsport
				Closed and became Denny's 9/23/93
87		Route 22 west of R&J Motors, adjacent to the Eastern edge of the Lebanon Valley Mall		Planned January 1985. 1/27/85 article
88	?	Erie	Schultz Rd.Off Interstate 90 and Route 97.	Opened 1985
89	?	Columbus, Ohio	West Broad Street. Lincoln Village Plaza	?
90	?	Cranberry Township (Pittsburgh area)	20249 Rte 19 Cranberry Township	?	Was torn down to put up the NexTier Bank, on 19 in front of Walmart.

Elby’s continued to move forward with their unit numbers as they gained units despite loss of other units (Franklin’s).

Boury companies involved in the building of their restaurants included Boury Brothers Reality, Inc. and The Contract Design Center of Boury Inc.

Elby’s had four prototypes restaurant architecture design:

Prototype I 1969 colonial design highlighted  by natural stone. Open beam construction, a cathdreal-type ceiling.

Prototype II 1980 California architectural design. Western-style adobe-like construction with hardwood beams, peaked stained glass windows and a terra cotta-colored roof. McMurray

Prototype III 1981 “California-style” design with western style construction featuring exposed beams, glazed ceramic tile, stained glass and terra cotta roof tile. The interior is accented by warm, subtle tones; custom-designed light fixtures and tapestries. Doesn’t not include and atrium and seats about 150. Wilkes-Barre, Allentown, Clarks Summit

“Approximately and acre is required for a single restaurant. About 5,000 square feet are occupied by the building and 45,000 are used for the parking and landscaping” – 5/10/81 article.

Prototype 4. 1984 Includes an atrium and can accommodate 178. 7,000 square feet. The biggest. Manheim Pike, Lebanon, Monroeville.