Bob Evans, 89, restaurant founder

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Bob Evans, 89, whose quest for quality sausage to serve the truckers who filled his 12-stool steakhouse in southeast Ohio led to the creation of a restaurant chain that bears his name, died yesterday of complications from pneumonia.

Getting started in the business after World War II, Mr. Evans complained that he couldn't get good sausage for the restaurant he opened in Gallipolis, Ohio.

Starting with $1,000, a couple of hogs, 40 pounds of black pepper, 50 pounds of sage and other secret ingredients, he opted to make his own, relying on the hog's best parts as opposed to the scraps commonly used in sausage. He began selling it at the restaurant and mom-and-pop stores, and peddled tubs of it out of the back of his pickup truck.

It marked the beginning of what is now a restaurant chain with sales of $1.6 billion and 590 restaurants in 18 states. The company also operates 108 Mimi's Cafe casual restaurants in 19 states. Its sausage and other products are sold in grocery stores.

"You might say the truck drivers did my research for me," he once said. "They would tell me that this was the best sausage they ever had, and then buy 10-pound tubs to take home."

Mr. Evans formed Bob Evans Farms in 1953 with five friends and relatives. The chain emphasizes farm-fresh food, cleanliness and service in a homey atmosphere.

The redbrick restaurants have white trim and the yellow "Bob Evans" name, reflecting his handwriting, at the top of the building.

The original Bob Evans restaurant opened in 1962 at the farm near Gallipolis, to serve the growing number of visitors who stopped by. The restaurant, called The Sausage Shop at first, started with 12 stools.

Mr. Evans and his family appeared in the company's early advertising, with Mr. Evans wearing a Stetson and a string tie. In 1968, the company moved to Columbus, Ohio. Mr. Evans at times clashed with the company after his retirement as president Dec. 31, 1986. But by 2003, he was happier as the stock price rebounded. "They're doing a pretty good job," he said then.

Mr. Evans is survived by his wife, Jewell, and five children.