 Lum's inFort Lauderdale, Florida, 1966 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Restaurant chain |
| Founded | 1956; 69 years ago (1956) inMiami Beach, Florida |
| Founder | Clifford S. Perlman, Stuart Perlman |
| Defunct | 1982; 43 years ago (1982) |
| Fate | Bankruptcy &Liquidation; a few franchisees remained in independent operation until 2017 |
| Headquarters | US |
Number of locations | ~400 (1971) at peak |
Area served | United States |
| Parent | Wienerwald |
Lum's was an Americanfamily restaurant chain based inFlorida with additional locations in several states. It was founded in 1956 inMiami Beach, Florida, by Stuart andClifford S. Perlman[1] when they purchased Lum's hot dog stand for $10,000. Over the next few years, the Perlman brothers opened three additional Lum's restaurants, for a total of four by 1961.[2]
Clifford Perlman, in addition to owning Lum's, had been serving as the president of Southern Wood Industries, Inc., resigned that position to work full-time for Lum's. Under the brothers, Lum's began aggressively expanding and franchising; the signature item washot dogs steamed inbeer. In 1969, Lum's, Inc., was admitted to theNew York Stock Exchange.
Lum's, Inc., purchasedCaesars Palace for $60 million in 1969. At that time, Caesars was a 500-room hotel-casino on theLas Vegas strip. The food operations of Lum's, Inc., were sold in 1971 toJohn Y. Brown, then chairman ofKentucky Fried Chicken, along with a group of investors.[3] At the time of sale, the company owned and franchised 400 stores in the continental US, Hawaii,Puerto Rico, and Europe.
Brown sought to improve the menu, and searched America for "the perfect hamburger".[4] In 1971, Brown boughtOllie Gleichenhaus's "Ollie Burger" recipe for $1 million (equivalent to $7,764,174 in 2024), along with stock in the new company and a ten-year contract for $50,000 a year to appear as the official spokesperson of the Ollieburger on behalf of Lum's.[5]
In 1978, Wienerwald Holdings, A.G., a Swiss holding company and parent of theWienerwald restaurant chain, under the direction of Friedrich Jahn, purchased the 273restaurant chain from Brown.[6] Wienerwald had overextended itself and was forced to file forbankruptcy in 1982. Two Jahn-controlled Lum's franchises were also forced to close all of their 70 Lum's locations and file for bankruptcy.[7]
The original Lum's location closed in 1983.[8] For a time, there was only one Lum's operating, inBellevue, Nebraska.[9][failed verification] In 2010 a Lum's opened inSeekonk, Massachusetts,[10] but later closed, leaving the Nebraska restaurant as the sole location. The Bellevue location closed on May 28, 2017.[11] The Lum's located in Davie, Florida claimed to be the last remaining store when it closed in the late 2000s.[12]
The Miami Beach location was still open around 1998.[citation needed][original research?]
For a time in the 1970s, the company's commercial spokesman wasMilton Berle.
Lum's makes a cameo appearance in Martin Scorsese's 2019 filmThe Irishman.