[6] To save up the money to bring his wife to America as well, he first worked as a cook for a railroad crew and in a hotel kitchen, then opened a short-order diner.

By World War II, Lambrinides was working as a chef for the original Empress Chili restaurant, where he continued to tinker with a recipe which he had been developing for years.

[4] After some local resistance in the predominantly German Catholic neighborhood that observed meatless Fridays,[4] Skyline developed a large and devoted following.

[citation needed] In 1998, the company was sold to Fleet Equity Partners, a New England investment firm, which promised not to change the recipe (which they reportedly keep locked in a safe).

In 2007, the company's board of directors purchased a majority of the Skyline stock previously owned by Chicago-based Prudential Capital Group.

The announcement was met with mixed reaction on social media, with many fans lamenting the loss of Mountain Dew being available with Skyline, though the chain will have Mello Yello available as an option.

Rival Gold Star Chili, which unlike Skyline had a more longer-term relationship serving Pepsi, announced on the same day that they were also switching to Coke products after 58 years.

Skyline coneys are also served inside Goodyear Ballpark, the Arizona spring training home of the Reds and Guardians.