Lum's was an American family restaurant chain based in Florida with additional locations in several states. It was founded in 1956 in Miami Beach, Florida, by Stuart and Clifford S. Perlman[1] when they purchased Lum's hot dog stand for $10,000. Over the next few years, the Perlman brothers opened three additional Lum's restaurants, for a total of four by 1961.[2]
Clifford Perlman, in addition to owning Lum's, had been serving as the president of Southern Wood Industries, Inc., resigned that position to work full-time for Lum's. Under the brothers, Lum's began aggressively expanding and franchising; the signature item was hot dogs steamed in beer. In 1969, Lum's, Inc., was admitted to the New York Stock Exchange.
Lum's, Inc., purchased Caesars Palace for $60 million in 1969. At that time, Caesars was a 500-room hotel-casino on the Las Vegas strip. The food operations of Lum's, Inc., were sold in 1971 to John Y. Brown, then chairman of Kentucky Fried Chicken, along with a group of investors.[3]