Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken set to close
Opened in 1983, Lee's is Oneida's oldest fast food restaurant
ONEIDA | Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken is closing, the Jeffers family announced Wednesday.
The restaurant will first move to an abbreviated schedule, closing at 2 p.m. daily after serving breakfast and lunch, beginning today. It will continue to accept catering orders. The restaurant will “close for good in the next month or so,” it said.
Opened in 1983 as Mrs. Winner’s Chicken & Biscuits, the restaurant is Oneida’s oldest fast-food establishment, pre-dating the arrival of McDonald’s. It has remained a staple in Scott County for 43 years, especially for breakfast and on Sundays. In addition to fried chicken, a fan favorite has long remained the super cinnamon swirls, a holdover from the Mrs. Winner’s days. It has been known as Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken since 2000.
Located in front of the Capitol 3 Theatre that the Jeffers family also owns, the restaurant was established by Oneida business owner Jan Jeffers. Jeffers has owned many businesses through the years, starting with the old Goodyear store, and was one of the original stockholders of the Independent Herald.
“I have determined that the time has come when I should reduce the stress and needs of a fast-paced business,” the 87-year-old Jeffers said, “with my age and a couple of medical issues being the determining factors.”
While several other fast-food restaurants have recently crowded the Oneida market, including the pending construction of a Zaxby’s that will also create competition in the fried chicken niche, Jeffers said Lee’s sales remain strong, which makes the decision to close difficult.
“We want to end our 43-year run on our own terms, at a high point, and with only good thoughts and memories for our guests,” he said.
Jeffers said Lee’s has been “a great company to work with, going far above what was necessary and expected.”
Lee’s has been managed for several years by Louise Phillips, who Jeffers said has been “the heartbeat of the business for years.”
The Jeffers family has been prominent on the Oneida business scene for years. Jan’s sister, Joan Williamson, owns Dilly Dilly Lavender Farm. His nephew, Leif Jeffers, is the 8th Judicial District’s Public Defender. His sister, Judy Davis, established the Horace M. Jeffers Scholarship Fund in their father’s memory to help Oneida High School students attend Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville.
“We have had hundreds of the local population pass through our doors as workers, and are happy to have aided with their transition to adulthood and hopefully contributed to others in raising their families. The thousands of Scott County and Kentucky residents who have literally carried us on their backs throughout the 43-year span should be recognized and thanked for their support as well,” Jeffers said.