Shoney’s is a privately held restaurant chain headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Operating primarily in the Southern United States, Shoney's also has restaurants in the Midwestern and Lower Mid-Atlantic states of the United States. Originally known as Parkette, founder Alex Schoenbaum became a licensee of Big Boy Restaurants in 1952. Two years later the name was changed to Shoney's and agressive subfranchising followed. Thirty years later, having outgrown its Big Boy territory, Shoney's dropped Big Boy affiliation.