LION’S CHOICE

Overview:

History
In October of 1967, a group of three young men gathered their resources and opened a fast food restaurant in Ballwin, Missouri. The Red Lion Beef House featured real roast beef sandwiches that sold for 69¢, ham sandwiches, french fries, cole slaw, potato chips, soft drinks and soft serve ice cream products. The owners: Marv Gibbs, Art Morey and Clint Tobias came from varied backgrounds, but were all committed to serving the community a quality product in a clean, quick and courteous manner.

The restaurant prospered. As the first year drew to a close, average sales were up 50% over the opening sales. The second year saw continued increases. It also saw the opening of the second restaurant in Creve Coeur, Missouri in 1969. The Creve Coeur location never operated with the name, Red Lion Beef House. In an effort to trademark the name, it was discovered that the name was already in use. Not wanting to lose the two years of recognition associated with the lion image, a new name was adopted for the restaurants: Lion’s Choice.

Over the next 25 years, the chain grew to nine stores. The conservative strategy of adding new stores only after enough cash was generated from operations worked well. Then in 1995, the rate of growth accelerated to accommodate the increased demand for the roast beef that had developed into nearly a cult following in some areas of St. Louis.

In 2013 Millstone Capital Advisors purchased the brand’s 14 corporate locations and assumed ownership as Franchisor of the 8 franchised locations. Through acquisitions and new restaurant development the brand grew to 26 restaurants, a nontraditional location inside the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, as well as “The Lean Roast Beef Machine” (food truck) between 2013 and 2018. Lion’s Choice opened 2 locations in the Kansas City Area in Dec 2018 and Jan 2019. Continued expansion efforts are ongoing as we aim to be a regional player in the Midwest.