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22-OCT-2008 Don Boyd

2008 - the last Lums restaurant, in Davie, Florida (story about closure in July 2009 below)

4125 SW 64th Avenue (Davie Road), Davie, Florida


Last Lums has closed 53 years after chain began

By Marcia Heroux Pounds Sun Sentinel
3:26 p.m. EDT, July 2, 2009

The Lums restaurant in Davie, the last of a franchise of 500 restaurants nationwide, has closed.

Once a South Florida fixture, Lums was founded by the Perlman family, who opened their first Lums in Miami Beach in 1956. The chain was so successful, and popular with college crowds in the 1960s and 1970s, that the corporation went public, listing on the New York Stock Exchange. The company later bought Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

Known for its trademark hot dogs steamed in beer and the "Ollie," a hamburger with special spices, Lums became a franchise, with South Florida locations in Hallandale Beach and on Lincoln Road.

The Perlmans sold the company in 1970 to John Y. Brown of Kentucky Fried Chicken, according to South Florida resident Scott Perlman, son of Stuart Perlman, who co-founded the family business with Scott's uncle Clifford. Scott's mother, Harriet, grandfather Bernard and grandmother Ethel all once worked at the restaurant.

"It brings back memories," said Perlman, who was among the nostalgic customers who gathered Sunday for the final day of business at the Davie location. The contents of the 32-year-old building, filled with memorabilia and Tiffany lamps, was sold at auction this week.

The Davie restaurant was owned for 30 years by Ernst and Rita Underecker. After Ernst's death, Rita sold the restaurant in January to Toula Amanna, who said she will continue the famous menu items when she opens the Flashback Diner at 4125 SW 64th Ave. in October.

"It's kind of sad. A lot of people came on the last day who have been coming for 30 years," Amanna said. But it was time for a change, she said, because "young people didn't even know" Lums.

When it closed, Lums had employed 12 people, some of whom had worked at the restaurant for nearly 30 years. The new 24-hour Flashback Diner plans to hire about 45 employees this fall, Amanna said.

The Flashback Diner received a $100,000 grant from the city of Davie to help renovate the former Lums.

"It's a diamond in the rough," Amanna said.

Marcia Heroux Pounds can be reached at mpounds@SunSentinel.com or 561-243-6650.

Copyright © 2009, South Florida Sun-Sentinel


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Mark Lincoln 30-Apr-2015 15:25
For those addicted to Ollieburgers there is an outfit online that claims to sell the spices. www.lums-recipes.com/
Guest 01-Sep-2011 02:12
I just loved their roast beef. It was the best. Used to frequent one in Daytona Beach, Florida on A1A. Our next door neighbors parents owned it. Wish there was still one in Florida. Thought there was one in Fort Pierce, Florida.
James 29-Jun-2010 12:00
I took my young son and daughter here in February 2009 for the "LUMS" experience, not knowing that it would close down just a few months later. The experience, however, was not particularly special -- the hot dogs boiled in beer were pedestrian at best, and the bun looked like it had come from Publix.

I should note that this was not the last LUMS. There is still one remaining LUMS just outside of Omaha, Nebraska. Yeah, well, for most people I guess the Davie LUMS might as well have been the last one.
Kersey475 31-Mar-2010 16:35
This new "Flashback Diner" better have the Ollieburger and the Beer-steamed hot dog in its menu!
Marc 14-Feb-2010 19:23
We used to leave school for lunch (without school permission) to eat at Lum's bar on 41st street, the original store (1960). We of course knew the Perlman's well. This also became an international chain. I recall having a Lum dog in Madrid, Spain. Once, even visited them in Las Vegas at Caesar's Palace. I remember the Perlman family always being gracious, no matter how successful they became.
Joyce W.M. 28-Dec-2009 16:46
That is 7th Avenue and 111th Street!
Joyce W.M. 28-Dec-2009 16:45
I remember the Lum's on Lincoln Road Mall, used to go there for lunch when I worked on South Beach, Worked at Lincoln and Drexel Ave for 14 years and before that at Washing Federal on Meridian Ave. across from the Burdines. My fondest memories of Lum's however is at the old location of N.W. 7th Avenue and 11th Street. We loved the fried clam strips, it was a great place.
Pete 21-Sep-2009 00:27
I lived in and around the Davie area from the time I was born (1957) until I moved to N.C. in 1990. Lums was a staple in town. I knew Ernst and Rita pretty well in the 1980's as my sister-in-law worked there for over 10 years. It was her first job. My son also worked there for a time as well. The Underecher's were wonderful gracious people and I was saddened when I heard that Ernst passed away. It's a shame that the last Lum's is gone... it will be missed by many ! !