60 Years. One Recipe. A New Chapter.
60 Years Famous. Built for the Operators Writing the Next Chapter.
From Lima, Ohio in 1966 to a 130-restaurant system in 2026 - the Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken story, decade by decade.
Famous Since 1966
Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken began in 1966 when Lee Cummings and Harold Omer opened "Harold's Take Home" restaurant in Lima, Ohio, where Lee first introduced his Famous Recipe chicken. The concept caught on quickly, and within a year new locations opened in Dayton and Cincinnati, Ohio, as well as Kalamazoo, Michigan. Growth accelerated through the early 1970s, when company pilot and director of operations Jerry Sullivan helped open 55 new restaurants and became the franchisee of the company's 100th store in Sanford, Florida.
New Ownership and Evolving Brand
In 1981, as the brand celebrated its 15th anniversary, Shoney's Inc. of Nashville, Tennessee purchased the rights to the company. The following year, Lee's debuted its signature farmhouse store design in Jacksonville, Florida, and by 1991 the chain marked a quarter-century in business with founder Lee Cummings serving as its national spokesman. Through the 2000s, the brand weathered several ownership changes while expanding its menu with items like Spicy Jumbo Dippers, breast strips, and new sides.
Famous Future
The 2010s brought a renewed focus on franchising, with Lee's restructuring to better support licensing efforts across the United States and internationally, opening new stores in Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, and Canada while posting sales growth that outpaced the industry. The brand celebrated 50 years of being "famous for chicken" in 2016. In 2021, affiliates of Artemis Lane Partners acquired the company with plans to reinvest in a new phase of growth, and that same year Lee's achieved its highest sales on record with over $200 million in system-wide sales. Momentum continued into 2023, when the brand unveiled a modernized visual identity and a new restaurant prototype designed to fuel even more growth as it continues setting sales records.
