Bob Evans, 89, whose quest for quality sausage to serve the truckers who filled his 12-stool, 24 hour-a-day steakhouse in southeastern Ohio led to the creation of a restaurant chain that bears his name, died June 21 at the Cleveland Clinic. The clinic said he died of complications of pneumonia. Mr. Evans complained that he could not get good sausage for the restaurant he started after WW 11 in Gallipolis. 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 from the back of a pickup truck. It marked the beginning of what is now a restaurant chain with sales of $1.6 billion in the fiscal year that ended April 28, with 590 restaurants in 18 states. The company also operates 108 Mimi's Cafe, casual restaurants in 19 states, mostly in the West. Its sausage and other products are sold in grocery stores. "You might say the truck drivers did my research for me," he said. "They would tell me that this was the best sausage they had ever had, and then buy 10 pound tubs to take home." Mr. Evans formed Bob Evans Farms in 1953 with 5 friends and relatives. The chain emphasizes farm-fresh food, cleanliness, and service in a homey atmosphere. The red brick restaurants have white trim and the yellow "Bob Evans" name reflecting Evan's handwriting, at the top of the building. The original Bob Evans restaurant opened in 1962 at the farm near Gallipolis, about 80 miles southeast of Columbus, to serve the growing number of visitors. The restaurant, called the Sausage Shop at first, started with 12 stools. "People like to deal with farmers. They like to buy stuff from the farm. They think it's fresher," Mr. Evans said in a 2000 interview. "In their mind, it's better, and they're willing to pay more for it." Mr. Evans and his family appeared in the company's early advertising, with Mr. Evan frequently wearing a Stetson hat and a string tie. "Bob is a creative guy, an idea man, a quality control specialist. That was really the role he played," said Stewart Owens, former chief executive of the company, which moved to Columbus in 1968. Mr. Evans did clash with the company after retiring as president Dec 31, 1986. In the 2003 interview, he criticized the company over its failed Mexican concept restaurant in the 1990s ---"That was a disaster" -- and some acquisitions he says he wasn't consulted about. In 2001, Mr. Evans came out in favor of a proposal to sell the company to beef up the stock price. Two years later, he was happier as the company's performance was more focused and the stock price had rebounded. Robert Lewis Evans was born March 30, 1918 in Sugar Ridge, Ohio, and grew up in Gallipolis. He briefly attended Ohio State University's veterinary school and left to become a farmer. Survivors include his wife of 67 years, Jewel Waters Evans of Bidwell, Ohio; 5 children, and 12 grandchildren. A daughter died in 1998. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/21/AR2007062102 280.html <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/21/AR200706210 2280.html> Can't claim him. Kemis