TEMECULA --Big Boy is back.

A Detroit-area company is rebuilding the restaurant chain marked in front with big plastic statues of a swirly haired boy in checkered overalls.

Big Boy Restaurants International LLC plans to open a restaurant in Temecula soon and will follow with several more in North County.

Can Big Boy lure a new generation of customers?

One restaurant analyst said his prospects are mixed.

The chain's statue and nostalgic appeal are great draws, but its standard American fare -- including omelettes, French fries and spaghetti -- seems dated, said Bob Goldin, an analyst with Technomic Inc., a Chicago-based food-industry consultancy. And "family restaurants" aren't drawing any more families than they did in Big Boy's 1960s heydey, Goldin said.

"It's kind of a tired segment," Goldin said. "I think it's a very, very modest growth opportunity at best."

The company's new owners say they have 72 years of history on their side. Founded as a Glendale cheeseburger stand in 1936 by Bob Wian, Big Boy eventually expanded to some 600 restaurants across the nation with the help of its namesake character, who appeared as a statue out front and as a comic-book character inside.

And several North County residents contacted this week had fond memories of the restaurant and its food.

Murrieta resident Jackie McGrew remembers eating at Bob's Big Boys -- as they're still known on the West Coast -- in Bell Gardens, where she grew up. The cheeseburgers were "second to none," she said.

Contact staff writer Chris Bagley at (760) 740-5444 or cbagley@nctimes.com.