CLEVELAND -- Bob Evans, whose quest for quality sausage to serve the truckers who filled his 12-stool, 24-hour-a-day steakhouse in southeast Ohio led to the creation of a restaurant chain that bears his name, died Thursday, Bob Evans Farms Inc. said. He was 89.

Evans died at the Cleveland Clinic about 12:30 p.m., Evans' family told the company. Bob Evans Farms Inc. said last week that he was being treated at the hospital for pneumonia.

Bob Evans was moved to the Cleveland Clinic after suffering a stroke earlier this year. Family members said Evans was moved to Cleveland from southern Ohio Friday after developing a staph infection.

He had been at home in Rio Grande, Ohio, for several weeks. Evans was originally taken to a hospital in Huntington, W.Va., in February after suffering a stroke.

They also said he was put back on a ventilator.

Evans celebrated his 89th birthday last month.

Evans retired as president of Bob Evans Farms in 1986. He and his wife, Jewell, continue to live in southeastern Ohio where they raised their six children. Evans lived on the farm for more than 20 years.

The company was founded in 1953 in Rio Grande, in Gallia County. It has become a national tourist destination.

Bob Evans Farms Inc. owns and operates 594 full-service family restaurants in 20 states. The company also operates 93 Mimi's Cafe casual restaurants in 13 states and is a producer and distributor of pork sausage products.