Red Lion Beef Corporation, doing business asLion's Choice, is an American fast food restaurant chain based in St. Louis, Missouri, that specializes in roast beef sandwiches. The company was founded in 1967, and opened their first restaurant in Ballwin, Missouri, on October 26, 1967, which remains open today. As of July 2018, there are 26 Lion's Choice restaurants, one in Illinois and the rest in Missouri with most in the St. Louis area: three are franchise-owned and 23 are company-owned. Although Lion's Choice primarily specializes in roast beef sandwiches, their menu also includes turkey sandwiches, ham sandwiches, pulled pork sandwiches, Italian beef sandwiches, French dip sandwiches, hot dogs, soups, salads, side dishes and desserts. The Illinois location also offers breakfast. The restaurant was named the Missouri state winner for the National Restaurant Association's Restaurant Neighbor Award in 2006 and Best Local Restaurant Chain by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 2014.
History
Lion's Choice was founded in 1967 by Marv Gibbs, a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis who worked as a chemical engineer for Monsanto, and his brother-in-law Clint Tobias. The first restaurant, which remains open today, opened on October 26, 1967, in Ballwin, Missouri. It served roast beef sandwiches, ham sandwiches, and turkey sandwiches for 69 cents each. The restaurant was originally named Brittany Beef but quickly changed to Red Lion Beef House. Two years later, Lion's Choice opened its second store in Creve Coeur, Missouri, and changed their name to Lion's Choice, after they could not trademark the name because Red Lion Hotels Corporation was already using the Red Lion name. In 2013, the founders sold the company to Millstone Capital Advisors and BlackRock Holdings, equity groups led by St. Louis real estate developers Bob Millstone and Mark Disper, for an undisclosed amount. Under the new ownership, in 2015, Lion's Choice opened a restaurant in Ellisville, Missouri, their first in ten years. In May 2017, Lion's Choice named Mike Kupstas, a longtime veteran of the foodservice industry, as its new CEO. Prior to this appointment, Kupstas held senior executive and marketing positions at Panera Bread, Long John Silver's and Red Lobster. Kupstas reportedly plans to launch new locations not just in the St. Louis area, but potentially throughout the Midwest, telling the St. Louis Business Journal: "No doubt beef consumption is greater in the Midwest. It’s a great place to start. But the product is consumed across the country... and has the potential to be a lot bigger than the Midwest." In September 2017, Lion's Choice launched its first food truck. The truck, which is 29 feet in length and custom-built, makes roast beef sandwiches, fries, and custard on board. In addition to other popular food-truck locations, the truck makes stops at Saint Louis University home soccer games and Scott Air Force Base. Customers can also book the truck for corporate and private events. In April 2018, Lion's Choice launched online ordering at all 23 of its company-owned restaurants. The technology was created by New-York based Olo. Customers order online by visiting the restaurant's official website, or by downloading the free Lion's Choice mobile app available in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. In July 2018, Lion's Choice broke ground on two new locations in the Kansas City metropolitan area, which are scheduled to open in November 2018. Furthermore, three more new locations in the Kansas City area are expected to open in 2019.
Products
Sandwiches
Lion's Choice specializes in roast beef sandwiches. The beef is cooked medium, sliced thin, and seasoned. The beef is then put on a buttered and toasted bun, with cheese added if requested by the customer. The company describes the meat as "roasted beef" because of the amount of time the meat is prepared. The roast beef sandwich comes in three sizes: Original, Large and King. In addition to roast beef sandwiches, the menu includes hickory-smoked ham sandwiches, smokehouse pulled pork sandwiches, roasted turkey breast sandwiches, Italian beef sandwiches, and French dip. Lion's Choice also serves hot dogs.
Sides
As sides, Lion's Choice offers french fries, coleslaw, baked potatoes, and veggie sticks. The french fries are skin-on, gluten free, and without any added salt, and the baked potato can be loaded with any combination of the following: butter, chives, cheddar, bacon bits, broccoli, or chili.
Soups and salads
Lion's Choice offers a variety of soups and salads. Its salads include a side salad; "LC Seasonal", which has carrots, walnuts, dried cranberries, tomatoes and blue cheese topped with bistro dressing; "Butcher Block Cobb", which has roast beef, turkey and ham, paired with blue cheese, shredded cheddar, greens, tomatoes, and carrots topped with bistro dressing. In addition to seasonal/daily featured soups, Lion's Choice's soups include chicken noodle soup, cream of broccoli soup, and hearty chili.
Desserts
Lion's Choice has gained particular renown for their frozen custard cones, which come in mini and regular sizes and can optionally be dipped in chocolate. The restaurant also serves milkshakes, cookies, sundaes, root beer floats, and concretes.
Lion's Choice has received many awards and honors. It was the Missouri state winner for the National Restaurant Association's Restaurant Neighbor Award in 2006. The restaurant chain was named Best Fast Food by the Riverfront Times in 2008. In 2014, the Riverfront Times named it the Best Chain Restaurant, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch named it their Best Local Restaurant Chain.
