Lee’s Chicken Announces Plans to Close After 43 Years
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
Lee’s Chicken Announces Plans to Close After 43 Years
By Shane Gilreath
SCN Contributing Editor
[email protected]
In life, there is often a yin and yang. For every piece of good news, there is often an equal measure of bad. That may be the case with Oneida’s growing food industry. While recent months have shown significance growth in the community and new investments in Oneida, a longtime local mainstay has announced it will soon close its doors.
Beginning on Wednesday, June 10th, Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken changed their hours, announcing they will serve breakfast and lunch and then be closing daily at 2PM, a decision that owner Jan Jeffers said was not made lightly.
“I have determined that the time has come when I should reduce the stress and needs of a fast-paced business, with my age (87) and a couple of medical issues being the determining factors,” Jeffers said, noting that the restaurant remains successful and that coming to this conclusion was not easy. “While the reduced hours will help, it is clear that our 43-year-old restaurant will be closing for good in the next month or so.”
Originally opened in 1983 as Mrs. Winner’s Chicken and Biscuits, the restaurant transitioned to the Lee’s brand 17 years later and has remained a fixture in the community ever since.
“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,” Jeffers said, while also thanking the hundreds of employees and thousands of customers who supported the business through the decades.
Just as Jeffers saw customers as guests, Oneida Mayor Lori Phillips-Jones had similar reflections on the business’ storied legacy and the important role it has played in Oneida.
“For generations, Lee’s has been more than a place to eat – it has been a gathering place, a landmark, and a part of the story of our community,” Phillips-Jonestold SCN. “Lee’s didn’t just serve meals; they built friendships, celebrated milestones, created the ‘retirement breakfast club’ and helped make our town feel like home. I’m saddened to see this chapter come to a close, and I’m deeply grateful for the lasting impact they have had on our community.”
The restaurant, who has yet to announce a definitive closure, would like patrons to know that catering services will continue as usual during the transition.
