Once There Was Lum’s

What was Lum’s?

Lum’s was the 1970’s version of Chili’s or TGI Fridays. Colorful interiors, burgers, steaks, and salads. They were at one time, one of the largest corporations in the US, when they owned the Caesars Casino’s and Resorts. After they divested the gambling, in the 80’s they were purchased by a German company known as Weinerwald, along with Ihop. As the 80’s wore on, so did the Lum’s. Through lack of input from Germany, as they were having problems of their own, Lum’s was left to wither and die, until now, when there are but a handful of the restaurants left.

During the boom period of the 70’s, the owners of Lum’s hooked up with a curious man, in Miami by the name of Oliver G. Gleichenhaus, or ‘Ollie’ as the community knew him.

He owned a small ‘chop’ shop which served steaks, chops and a unique hamburger that he threw together to satisfy the tastes of his growing Spanish (Cuban) customers.

Either he, or Lum’s named this concoction the Ollie Burger. It consisted of an obnoxious brick of ingredients, which when mixed with water, gave off an amazingly pungent smell.

The 1/3 lb hamburgers would be allowed to marinade in this mix for several minutes before being cooked on a 2 sided grill, very similar to a George Forman Grill that they sell today.

Ollie was very specific about the cooking procedures. Each burger was ONLY to be served Medium Rare and no other way. As long as Ollie was standing there, it had to be cooked that way. No toppings, other than a slice of Provolone and then later Mozzarella cheese, and his special sauce on the bun .

Lum’s like all other companies, allowed their customers to order it any way they liked, much to Ollie’s displeasure.

The chain eventually opened a number of Ollie’s Trolley’s to serve this burger in dense urban areas where there was no room for a large building. And yes, there are, until this day, several Trolley’s still in operation.

Ever since the chain dried up, there has been a watered down version of the Secret Recipe floating around the web. Even the Top Secret Recipes web site has failed to duplicate it.

However, I have.

And….as a Christmas present to those long suffering lovers of Ollie Burgers, I will post the recipe, all 23 herbs and spices on December the 24, of this year.

This will be the first and only time that this has been done.

Be patient! It will be more than worth the wait.

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