In 1949, he and three of his sons opened their own place on Glenway Avenue, near the top of a steep hill (Price's or Price Hill); they named it Skyline Chili for its panoramic view of downtown Cincinnati. After some local resistance in the predominantly Catholic neighborhood, Skyline developed a large and devoted following – especially on Thursdays and Saturdays, which immediately preceded and followed meatless Fridays.[2]
The family opened a second restaurant in 1953 and the growth of the business accelerated in the 1960s; by the end of the century, there were 110 Skyline restaurants, mostly in Ohio, but with additional establishments in other states including Kentucky, Indiana, and Florida. Lambrinides died in 1962 at the age of 82, but his sons continued to operate and expand the company. They retained the original recipe unchanged, though. According to William Lambrinides, "Dad always said, 'Don't change a thing with the recipe – don't add anything, don't take out anything, it's perfect the way it is'." As a result, Skyline's version has largely become synonymous with "Cincinnati-style chili". In 1998, the company was sold to Fleet Equity Partners, a New England investment firm, which promised not to change the recipe (which they reportedly keep locked in a safe).