In October of 1967, a group of three young men gathered their resources and opened a fast food restaurant in Ballwin, Missouri. The Red Lion Beef House featured real roast beef sandwiches that sold for 69¢, ham sandwiches, french fries, cole slaw, potato chips, soft drinks and soft serve ice cream products. The owners: Marv Gibbs, Art Morey and Clint Tobias came from varied backgrounds, but were all committed to serving the community a quality product in a clean, quick and courteous manner.

The restaurant prospered. As the first year drew to a close, average sales were up 50% over the opening sales. The second year saw continued increases. It also saw the opening of the second restaurant in Creve Coeur, Missouri.

The Creve Coeur store never operated with the name, Red Lion Beef House. In an effort to trademark the name, it was discovered that the name was already in use. Not wanting to lose the two years of recognition associated with the lion image, a new name was adopted for the restaurants: Lion's Choice.

Over the next 25 years, the chain grew to nine stores. The conservative strategy of adding new stores only after enough cash was generated from operations worked well. Then in 1995, the rate of growth accelerated to accommodate the increased demand for the roast beef that had developed into nearly a cult following in some areas of St. Louis.