Tops was a local hamburger chain that only NoVa, DC expatriates will remember. There’s some history here:
https://www.historicfairfax.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/HFCI53-2007.pdf
“In our area, we had Big Boy. I always thought their double-decker burger predated the Big Mac, too..”
Your memory is correct.
Big Boy (aka Bob’s Big Boy) is/was a national chain that began in California
I was (and am) in Maryland. I loved Big Boy.