Lum’s

Florida's Perlman brothers proudly offered hot dogs cooked in beer on their menu when they opened a restaurant on Miami Beach in the middle of the 1950s. They gave their eatery the name Lum's, and it became popular right away. Early in the 1970s, the featured hot dog cost 35 cents, but for an extra nickel, customers could add sherry-flavored sauerkraut. Lum's had already been listed on the NYSE by that point.

The Lum's chain was sold to Kentucky Fried Chicken, which was then controlled by John Y. Brown, who would later become governor of Kentucky, in 1969 after the Perlman family bought Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. Under Brown's leadership, Lum's dropped from its peak of 450 outlets in the early 1970s, while Kentucky Fried Chicken expanded rapidly, notably overseas. Lum's offered a wide selection of imported beers in the early 1970s, which was unusual for American restaurants at the time, especially casual eating establishments.

The business was replaced by a Swiss chain called Wienerwald as a result of the imported beer. By 1978, not many Lum's restaurants were still operating as the slump persisted. With the exception of one in Bellevue, Nebraska, the few surviving Lum's stores shuttered after the company filed for bankruptcy in 1982. Up until its demise in 2017, that establishment continued to operate under the Lum's name and serve hot dogs steamed in beer.