LUMS Restaurant
Telephone worker Henry Finneral purchased land now occupied by Walgreens at 86 Chelmsford Street in 1949. By 1951 he built a large stone-clad house with attached two-car garage. According to Facebook comments, Henry owned Carnival rides stored behind the house for many years.
In 1971 Henry leased out a site on the northeast side of the property to Leo Wernick & Son. They built a franchise of the LUM’s national family restaurant chain. Their traditional sign read “LUM’S Hot Dogs Steamed in Beer” and they provided low-cost family meals and children’s menus. A Swiss holding company purchased the LUMs chain in 1978. The Chelmsford franchise closed when the holding company was forced to file for bankruptcy in 1982.
Town Meeting Restaurant
North Chelmsford entrepreneur Bob Scharn repurposed the business in 1983 as the Town Meeting Restaurant. He received approval for both liquor and entertainment licenses and added a small dance floor. Several family members worked in the business, and it became the go-to place for politicians and their events. Bob retired from the restaurant business in 2000 after 17 years. The Town Meeting closed its doors for good on June 24.
Henry Finneral died in March 1997. In July his widow Mary transferred ownership to sons Mark and Henry Jr. doing business as The Chelmsford Street LLC.
Transition to Walgreens
The transition to Walgreens began in 2004. Chelmsford Retail LLC took ownership in January and then Newbridge LLC in November.
References:
Newspapers as listed.
Google Earth images as listed.
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