type public traded as nasdaq bobe industry restaurant founded rio grande ohio 1946 1946 headquarters new albany ohio key people bob evans founder saed mohseni ceo products bob evans restaurants bob evans sausage owens country sausage mimi s cafe revenue 1.669 billion fy 2012 1 operating income 107 million fy 2012 1 net income 72.85 million fy 2012 1 total assets 1.066 billion fy 2012 1 total equity 657 million fy 2012 1 number of employees 46 818 apr 2012 1 website bobevans.com bob evans restaurants is an american national chain of restaurants operated by bob evans farms inc. a food service processing and retail company based in new albany ohio . the company is named after its founder bob evans 1918 2007 . 3 its food processing and retail enterprise products are manufactured and sold under the bob evans and owens country sausage brand names . contents 1 overview 2 history 3 see also 4 references 5 external links overview edit a typical bob evans restaurant the bob evans chain has over 600 locations in 24 states primarily in the mid atlantic midwestern and upper southern states . all locations are corporately owned not franchised . the restaurants offer a theme of country living and a close connection to farms . breakfast is served at the restaurants all day long . the company also offers pork products to the retail grocery market as well as other prepared food products to the grocery and food service segments . baked goods snacks greeting cards and small gift items are also sold at some bob evans restaurants . history edit the bob evans farm in rio grande ohio with a bob evans restaurant left the bob evans restaurant chain started from a single truck stop diner near the bob evans farm in rio grande ohio in 1946 . the restaurant chain started up after bob evans began processing and packaging his own sausage for his diner . truck drivers and other patrons began telling him that his sausage was superior . he did not have the capacity to fill large orders . as a result he contracted with his cousin tim evans of evans packing co. to package bob evans sausage products . bob made his way across the southern ohio hills seeking some of the best cuts of meat . he was very well known in the town of gallipolis ohio where at the local meat market & grocery store he and earl nance created sausage recipes . evans tried to sell his sausage to area restaurants but they turned him down saying that customers wouldn t pay more for quality . evans felt differently and opened his own restaurant on his farm in rio grande in 1962 . another relative dan evans served as ceo until his retirement in 2000 . 3 bob evans outlet in lynchburg virginia the company acquired texas based owens country sausage in 1987 . the company branded its otherwise identical restaurants in texas as owens restaurants due to trademark issues . by january 2006 all owens restaurants were closed . 4 the company operated a mexican themed restaurant called cantina del rio in the mid 1990s a move which bob evans called a disaster in 2003 . 5 the evans family controlled daily operations of the company until 2000 when dan evans retired as ceo . after dan s retirement stewart k. owens a former officer of the owens country sausage company and later president of bobe assumed control of bob evans farms inc. as ceo . in 2001 he became chairman of the board . company profits faltered under owens tenure . in august 2005 after corporate profits had dropped in eight of the previous nine quarters owens announced his resignation . after operating for several months under interim ceo larry corbin the company hired steven davis former president of long john silver s as ceo in may 2006 . in july 2004 bob evans farms purchased the california based mimi s cafe restaurant chain operating under swh corporation for 182 million . 6 7 mimi s cafe had 144 locations throughout the u.s. at the time . they featured casual dining and american food with a french emphasis and decorative elements . bob evans farms sold mimi s cafe to the u.s. branch of groupe le duff in 2013 . on august 17 2009 bob evans opened a prototype restaurant in xenia ohio . 8 this restaurant has a more farm like feel and resembles the bob evans farm . ceo steven davis resigned in december 2014 . 9 as of q4 2015 the chain announced its intention to sell 145 properties to mesirow financial holdings inc. for a total price of 200 million . the net proceeds are expected to be approximately 165 million and the deal is expected to close in q2 2016 . 10 see also edit list of casual dining restaurant chains list of restaurant chains in the united states references edit a b c d e f bob evans farms inc. form 10 k annual report filing date jun 21 2012 pdf . secdatabase.com . retrieved feb 13 2013 . company profile for bob evans farms inc bobe . retrieved 2008 10 21 . a b lafferty mike 21 june 2007 . bob evans dies at 89 . the columbus dispatch . retrieved 21 july 2010 . bob evans farms announces closing of eight remaining owens restaurants press release associated press 21 june 2007 . bob evans obituary . legacy.com . retrieved 21 july 2010 . fundinguniverse company histories swh corporation . retrieved on 2008 11 02 . mimi s changes recipe a little under new owner ; it adds some upscale entrees while preserving comfort food favorites . . bob evans press release pdf . archived from the original pdf on january 7 2010 . lublin joann . bob evans s ceo resigns as board revamps firm . the wall street journal . retrieved 16 december 2014 . bob evans farms agrees to 200 million sale leaseback of 145 restaurants costar group . www.costar.com . retrieved 2016 01 14 . external links edit official website bob evans farms inc. sec filings authority control worldcat identities viaf 147014402 lccn nr90006776 retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title bob evans restaurants & oldid 738683377 categories restaurants established in 1953companies based in the columbus ohio metropolitan arearestaurants in 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