verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . november 2008 learn how and when to remove this template message skyline chili location on vine street in downtown cincinnati type private industry casual dining founded 1949 in cincinnati ohio headquarters fairfield ohio usa number of locations 136 july 2016 1 area served ohio kentucky indiana florida key people kevin mcdonnell ceo ; nicholas lambrinides founder products cincinnati chili website www.skylinechili.com skyline chili is a chain of chili restaurants based in cincinnati ohio . founded in 1949 by greek immigrant nicholas lambrinides 2 skyline chili is named for the view of cincinnati s skyline that lambrinides could see from his first restaurant which has since been demolished opened in the section of town now known as price hill . it is also the official chili of many local professional sports teams and venues including the cincinnati reds columbus blue jackets and the kings island theme park 3 and also sponsors the crosstown classic an annual men s college basketball rivalry game between the city s two ncaa division i teams cincinnati and xavier . contents 1 history 2 menu 3 locations 4 references 5 external links history edit in 1912 nicholas lambrinides immigrated to cincinnati from kastoria greece and brought his favorite family recipes with him . 4 to save up the money to bring his wife to america as well he first worked as a cook for a railroad crew and in a hotel kitchen then opened a short order diner . after nearly a decade his wife was able to join him in cincinnati and they raised five sons . by world war ii lambrinides was working as a chef for the original empress chili restaurant where he continued to tinker with a recipe which he had been developing for years . citation needed 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 . that diner was located at the intersection of what is now quebec and glenway avenue . the owners named it skyline chili for its panoramic view of downtown cincinnati . after some local resistance in the predominantly roman catholic neighborhood citation needed skyline developed a large and devoted following especially on thursdays and saturdays which immediately preceded and succeeded meatless fridays . citation needed 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 . citation needed 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 . in 2007 the company s board of directors purchased a majority of the skyline stock previously owned by chicago based prudential capital group . 5 menu edit a 4 way with onions and oyster crackers from skyline skyline chili is unique in that it is not chili con carne the meat dish that originated in and is the state dish of texas . instead cincinnati style chili is a sauce usually used over spaghetti or hot dogs containing a unique spice blend that gives it a very distinct taste . officially the recipe for skyline chili is a well kept family secret among lambrinides surviving children . however many skyline patrons believe that the unique taste of skyline chili comes from chocolate and cinnamon spices common in greek cuisine s meat dishes . the general recipe is not unique to skyline cincinnati style chili is sold by several chili parlors the local term used to describe restaurants offering this specialty in the area . these include both chains and single outlet restaurants . the chains include empress dixie and gold star chili while camp washington chili time price hill chili dawson s school house of chili are single outlet chili parlors . skyline s menu includes their signature dishes cheese coneys a hot dog topped with skyline chili mustard onions and cheese and 3 ways spaghetti topped with skyline chili and cheese ; 4 ways choice of beans or onions added and 5 ways beans and onions both added . additional menu items include burritos made with skyline chili including the chilito classic and greek style salads french fries cheese fries garlic bread cheese bread and baked potatoes topped with skyline chili . to accommodate patrons who follow a low carbohydrate diet skyline has recently offered low carb options such as a coney bowl a cheese coney without the bun and also now serves vegetarian options using black beans and rice in place of chili in many of its dishes . there is also a dessert menu and a kids menu . with every meal skyline chili provides a bowl or package of oyster crackers . one cincinnatian party staple is the famous skyline dip . it is made with layers of cream cheese canned skyline chili and shredded cheddar cheese . it is cooked for 15 minutes at 400 degrees . it is served with tortilla chips as an appetizer at most parties . this dip is sold in some stores and it is extremely popular among the natives . citation needed skyline s chili and other related products are also available in supermarkets in its marketing area . offerings include the chili sauce sold in cans and frozen microwave dinners with the meat sauce spread over spaghetti noodles . locations edit skyline chili location in springboro ohio skyline chili operates 136 restaurants in ohio indiana kentucky and florida . the restaurants may be considered somewhere between fast food and casual dining . diners may sit at a booth or table and be served by a waiter or at many locations sit at a counter near employees preparing the food . at all restaurants dishes are assembled at a centrally located service island so diners may watch their food as it is made . food prepping takes only a few minutes so one often gets their food quickly . carry out and drive through service are also available at most locations . references edit skyline chili opens 129th location in wilmington oh skyline chili co founder dead at 88 cincinnati enquirer ; april 20 2012 skyline nation . skyline chili . http www.skylinechili.com our story.php skyline chili back in local hands wkrc ; dec. 17 2007 external links edit official website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title skyline chili & oldid 743395646 categories fast food chains of the united statesregional restaurant chains in the united stateshot dog restaurantschili con carne restaurantscompanies based in cincinnatirestaurants in cincinnatirestaurants established in 19491949 establishments in ohiofairfield ohiocuisine of cincinnatihidden categories articles needing additional references from november 2008all articles needing additional referencespages using infobox company with unsupported parametersall articles with unsourced statementsarticles with unsourced statements from june 2013articles with unsourced statements from january 2009articles with unsourced statements from july 2015official website different in wikidata and wikipedia navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version in other projects wikimedia commons languages deutschripoarisch edit links this page was last modified on 9 october 2016 at 13 11 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; 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