Bringin’ In The Chicken

Waukegan Journal:

They’ve been in the chicken business longer than many people have been alive.

Richard and Eileen Lumpkin, owners of Richard’s Chicken and Ribs in Round Lake Heights, have been cooking southern fried chicken and kickorty-smoked barbecue ribs for more than half a decade – 52 years, actually – only a year longer than they’ve been married.

This year they celebrate 30 years of family-owned business at their 900 W. Rollins Road establishment, with special emphasis on “family-owned.”

“One of the family is always here,” Richard Lumpkin said, noting that his four sons have all come back, at some point, to work part time at his restaurant. “We’re maintained by one of the family at all times.”

That close-knit, friendly atmosphere is one of the reasons the Lumpkins have stayed in business so long, Eileen Lumpkin said.

And 30 years in the same location has brought the Lumpkins to the point where, when a customer walks through the door, it’s almost guaranteed Richard Lumpkin will know who it is. Full story.

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