fast food seafood chain, Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken fast-food chain, now part of Mrs. Winner's and three casual dining chains, The Sailmaker, Pargo's, and the Fifth Quarter Steakhouses. In 1976, the company started a lodging chain, with properties branded as "Shoney's Inn" motels. By the 1990s, the company operated over 1,000 restaurants. Legacy Alex Schoenbaum died on December 6, 1996, almost 50 years after he began what became his hospitality empire. He was survived by wife Betty Schoenbaum (née Frank), (who became active in civic matters and philanthropy in West Virginia, and her winter hometown of Sarasota, Florida) and their four children Joann, Jeff, Emily, and Raymond. They had seven grandchildren, and ten great-grandchildren. Betty died on July 31, 2018, at the age of 100. In Charleston, West Virginia, where the business began, the Schoenbaum Family Enrichment Center and the Schoenbaum Soccer Stadium were family contributions to the community. In addition, at the Max M. Fisher College of Business in Columbus, the undergraduate business program is housed in Schoenbaum Hall named in his memory. In 2018, the Alex Schoenbaum scholarship and the Alex Schoenbaum Jewish Scholarship Fund was established through the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans and Alex's daughter, Emily to bolster African American Jewish relations in New Orleans. References External links Video: Alex Schoenbaum at Shoney's No. 1 Parkette in Charleston, 1971 at West Virginia State Archives, wmv format, 0:45 minutes. 1915 births 1996 deaths Sportspeople from Charleston, West Virginia Jewish American sportspeople American football defensive tackles Ohio State Buckeyes football players Businesspeople from West Virginia American restaurateurs American hoteliers 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American Jews