Lou Pappan

Pappan was born in Makrakomi, Phthiotis, Greece in 1930.^[5] His father owned a restaurant in Makrakomi, where he and his family worked and learned to cook.^[6][7] His village was affected by World War II combat^[2] and he often relied on air-lifted food from American aircraft.^[4] He immigrated to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, on June 7, 1951^[7] and did not know English.^[5] He worked at his uncle's neighborhood bar and later joined the U.S. Army where he served in the 101st Airborne Division during the Korean War.^[2][4] He changed his surname to Pappan due to pronunciation issues, with an Army sergeant calling him, "The Alphabet".^[4][7]

Pappan got married in 1960 and bought his first restaurant in 1961, which had been a failed candy store called "The Sweet Shop". Pappan claimed to have kept the name because he spent all his money to the point where he couldn't afford a new sign. In 1964, he opened the first Pappan's Family Restaurant location.^[8] The restaurant became known for its fried chicken radio and television commercials which featured Pappan saying his famous phrases, "Chicken, Chicken, Chicken!" and "you gonna like it".^[9][2][4][5] Pappan had over 30 Pappan Family Restaurant locations at his peak and Pappan also owned franchises to 20 Roy Rogers restaurants.^[4][3] Pappan often gave children at restaurants silver dollars, handing out over $22,000 worth of silver dollars to patrons in 1989.^[2] Pappan also held an annual picnic at Bradys Run Park for senior citizens to eat for free.

By the mid-1990's, Pappan had begun to exit the restaurant business, going into in commercial and residential real estate with his children, forming a company called Fourway Properties.^[2]

Pappan's Family Restaurants filed for bankruptcy in 2007.^[10] Pappan retired in the 2010s and died on April 11, 2023, at the age of 92.^[5][11][12]