Coffin Filla

S. Truett Cathy, purveyor of fine chicken and self-righteous rejector of civil rights, has died at the age of 93. Cathy, whose loving God apparently didn’t like gays, eating on the Sabbath, or cows that can spell, founded Chick-fil-a in 1946, the same year his social views stopped evolving. Appropriately enough, Cathy died just after midnight on a Monday morning, preserving the sanctity of the Lord’s Day, and ensuring that the bereaved could mourn his passing over a chicken biscuit sandwich.

The Sacking of Troy

Troy Smith, the man who built a cult drive-in empire on a menu of foods and drinks seemingly based on a dare, has died at the age of 87. If you’re in the mood to have a roller-skating carhop deliver a Fritos chili pie at midnight and wash it down with a chocolate Dr. Pepper, Smith is the man to thank for making it happen. Originally planning on building an upscale steakhouse in his hometown of Shawnee, Oklahoma in 1953, he noticed that a root beer stand already on the property was raking in a good business, and that he lived in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and focused on developing a drive-in diner. Fifty years later, the chain has 3,500 restaurants in 41 states.

I-DROP

Al Lapin Jr., who gave the world a string of incredibly sticky restaurants with the International House of Pancakes chain, has died at the age of 76. Founded in 1958 with a single eatery in Toluca Lake, over the years IHOP acquired Orange Julius, Love's Barbecue and Copper Penny. Prior to his eatery career, Lapin had produced Duck and Cover films for the Civil Defense Administration.