 Empress was the largest chili parlor chain in Cincinnati until 1949 , when a former Empress employee and Greek immigrant , Nicholas Lambrinides , started Skyline Chili . In 1965 , four brothers named Daoud , immigrants from Jordan , bought a restaurant called Hamburger Heaven from a former Empress employee , noticed the Cincinnati chili was outselling the hamburgers on their menu , and changed the restaurant 's name to Gold Star Chili . As of 2015 Skyline ( over 130 locations ) and Gold Star ( 89 locations ) were the largest Cincinnati chili parlor chains , while Empress had only two remaining locations , down from over a dozen during the chain 's most successful period . 
