Sunday, April 26, 2020

Remembering Lums Restaurants in Illinois

Lums was a casual restaurant chain known for its hot dogs steamed in beer and tantalizing Ollieburgers. Stuart and Clifford Perlman started Lums in 1956 in Miami Beach, and the brothers had four restaurants by 1961 and began aggressively expanding and franchising the company. The Florida-based chain peaked at about 400 restaurants nationwide, and the last one closed in 2017 in Bellevue, Nebraska.

Lums Restaurant's busiest Chicago location was in the Old Town neighborhood on the southwest corner of North Avenue and Wells Street.
Standard Lums Stand-A-Lone Building
Lums restaurants were in Bloomington, Chicago, on Touhy Avenue west of Caldwell Avenue and in Old Town, Chicago Heights, Des Plaines at Oakton (Rt 83) and Elmhurst Road, Glenwood on Halsted, Hill Crest, Kankakee, Niles, Oak Lawn at 87th & Cicero, Ottawa, Pekin in the Pekin Mall on Court Street, Peoria, Rockford, Rolling Meadows on Algonquin Road west of Wilkie Road, Schaumburg outside of Woodfield Mall, Tinley Park, Urbana, Villa Park at St. Charles and Euclid, and Wheeling.
A Standard Interior View
Lums offered Hot Dogs steamed in beer with Sherry-flavored sauerkraut and their famous chopped sirloin Lumburgers. Their huge Grilled Cheese sandwich was on a fluffy poppy-seed bun injected with American cheese and melty cheese slices between the bun for 45¢. Their $1.55 freshly breaded fried clam dinner was a best seller. Lums offered over 20 brands of beer, some on tap and others in bottles, but all served in ice-cold frosted glasses.


 It was a sad day when the Miami-based Lums filed for bankruptcy and closed permanently in 1983.

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16 comments:

  1. old daveSunday, May 24, 2020 at 8:15:00 PM CDT

    gee whiz you forgot the Lum"s on the west side of St.Charles on main st. Not to mention you forgot the wonderful roast beef sandwich which was the main reason many of us went there

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    Replies
    1. AnonymousFriday, August 25, 2023 at 12:03:00 PM CDT

      There was a Lums in Edwardsville, Illinois for a time also.

      Delete
    2. Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.Friday, August 25, 2023 at 12:57:00 PM CDT

      There was never a Lums Restaurant in Edwardsville, Illinois. The closest Lums Restaurant to Edwardsville was in Alton, Illinois, which was about 15 miles away. The Lums Restaurant in Alton, Illinois was located at 200 Piasa Street. The address is now 200 Piasa Court, which is a parking lot for the Alton Belle Casino. The restaurant was open from 1962 to 1991.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousSunday, July 17, 2022 at 8:49:00 PM CDT

    Lord,
    Working there, miss the family owned I
    , Now they own .
    Peppers Sargents on Stevenson drive in, Springfield l,l Illinois

    Argent's on Stevesondrive

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousSunday, July 24, 2022 at 6:45:00 AM CDT

    Use to be one around the corner from my high school in Arlington Heights. I regret not going more often.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousFriday, November 18, 2022 at 9:12:00 AM CST

    What about the Lums in the Pekin mall?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousMonday, December 26, 2022 at 10:31:00 PM CST

      I think the Pekin and Peoria Lums closed in the late 80’s and the owning partners went their separate ways

      Delete
    2. AnonymousWednesday, January 4, 2023 at 11:26:00 AM CST

      Peoria Lums closed sometime in the early 2000s.

      Delete
  5. AnonymousSunday, March 19, 2023 at 6:55:00 AM CDT

    There was one in Northwest Indiana too.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousSunday, April 2, 2023 at 7:12:00 PM CDT

    My stepfather was the manager of the Lum's Schaumburg restaurant, located on the north side of Golf Rd just west of Roselle from about 1968 to 1970. Then he moved to the Glen Ellyn Lum's located on Roosevelt Rd. and was there from about 1970-1972? Loved their onion rings. They offered complimentary Andes Mint Candies in a glass bowl at the cashier/hostess podium. The Schaumburg location eventually became the Black Pearl restaurant.

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    1. AnonymousSaturday, August 5, 2023 at 9:08:00 PM CDT

      I worked for them as a manager/ assistant from 1972 to 1977. I worked at Niles, il, desplaines. Il, Arlington heights. Il , and wheeling, il. Was a lot of work as a manager / assistant.manager

      Delete
    2. AnonymousMonday, August 14, 2023 at 7:49:00 PM CDT

      I worked at the AH location probably from 1974-1973

      Delete
    3. AnonymousSunday, September 17, 2023 at 12:05:00 AM CDT

      I live in des plaines. Where was this located? I know it says 83 and Elmhurst but that's kind of the same street.

      Delete
    4. Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.Sunday, September 17, 2023 at 6:17:00 PM CDT

      Des Plaines at Oakton (Rt 83) and Elmhurst Road,

      Delete
    5. AnonymousWednesday, January 31, 2024 at 4:45:00 PM CST

      My father owned the ones in wheeling niles des plaines and Arlington hts

      Delete
  7. bmartin4242@hwdsb.on.caThursday, January 4, 2024 at 4:40:00 PM CST

    Use to work there till the waitresses put ketchup in my work 👟

    ReplyDelete

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