The house that chicken built
Lally’s Eastside serves family diners from all parts of Siouxland
By Tim Gallagher, Journal staff writer | Posted: Monday, December 26, 2005
Ribs and chicken, above, put Lally’s Eastside Restaurant of Le Mars on the map. The restaurant opened 44 years ago. (Photos by Tim Gallagher)
LE MARS, Iowa — At Lally's Eastside Restaurant in Le Mars, you dine in a building a Bible salesman and former boxer won in a poker game.
The chicken here is pretty spicy. And yes, so are the stories.
"Dad came to Le Mars from Fremont, Neb.," says Laura Klave, the youngest of 11 children raised by the late Mike and Marie Mullally. "He was selling Bibles and religious books. He met our mom at a dance."
He stayed. Together, Mike and Marie built a family, then found a way to feed it by opening Lally's Eastside Restaurant June 25, 1961.
Klave was 3 at the time.
"Dad had a produce business before then," she said. "He sold to Campbell's Soup. This building housed his trucks. But then the business with Campbell's changed" and Mullally, the middle man, was skipped.
So, he took his building and made a restaurant. He won the other half of the facility in a poker game.
"Dad was a pool shark who once played Willie Mosconi in Sioux City," Klave said. "He once won four cars one night while gambling," Klave said, adding that her father was also a pool shark who played Willie Mosconi in Sioux City.
And the name Lally's Eastside?
"It's short for Mullally, but it was also Dad's boxing name," Klave recalled. "He boxed in the 1930s under the name Ace Lally. The name Eastside (it's on the east side of Le Mars) comes from Mom's favorite movie, 'West Side Story.' She loved the music."
"Ace" the former boxer grew tired of being knocked down by food prices for his growing family. So, in 1961 he and Marie opened their restaurant. The staff was built right in.
"Dad said he could not afford to take Mom and us kids out for dinner," Klave said. "He wanted to offer a family dining atmosphere with affordable prices. He also wanted us kids to work."
And work they did. The oldest of the bunch, Mike Jr., wed Judy two weeks before the restaurant opened. Lally's didn't open until they returned. Mike Jr. went to work immediately for his parents. The couple bought out his parents in 1980, one year after Marie died. Mike Sr. died eight years later.
Mike Jr. marketed his Lally's Thousand Island dressing and barbecue sauce, and a limited amount is still sold at the restaurant. He and Judy sold the restaurant to Laura, the current owner, in 2002.
It's still a family affair. Kim Penne, who is married to the former Malea Mullally, manages the restaurant. Another sister, Susie Bunjes, has worked here since she was 14.
"If I need someone to work, I can call anyone in the family," Laura Klave said.
Brother Larry Mullally left Le Mars years ago to operate the popular Pantry Restaurant in downtown Storm Lake. He and his wife Jo now own and operate The Golden Pheasant at nearby Remsen.
Broasted chicken
Lally's reputation was built on broasted chicken. According to Bunjes, McCormick's had a distributorship next door to Lally's along Highway 3 in the early 1960s. The pros at McCormick's set Mike Mullally up with a broaster and showed him how to broast chicken.
He didn't know how to before he opened a restaurant?
"He couldn't make himself a hamburger," Bunjes said. "But he learned to broast chicken and he'd put the broasters on a bus and cater church dinners all over the area."
The first church dinner Lally's catered, they said, took place at Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Maryhill in rural Cherokee County.
Through trial and error, Mike Mullally developed a marinate for Lally's chicken. It soon became the talk of Plymouth County.
"He developed his own marination process which was the key to our broasted chicken," said Klave.
In time, Lally's would add a growing ribs enterprise to complement its chicken, daily specials and homemade soups and pies. Recently, Thursdays have become popular with Southern Fried Chicken offered throughout the day and evening. Prime Rib is served Saturday night.
There is no alcohol served here, a constant in keeping with the family theme.
"Dad tried having car hops here. He tried being open all night for a while," Klave said. "But most of all, he tried keeping food affordable for families."
His children have continued that legacy, still offering a two-piece chicken dinner for $5.25. The dinner includes potatoes, salad and dinner roll. A jumbo rib dinner featuring five ribs, potatoes, salad and a roll costs $8.25.
The restaurant is open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., closing only three times per year: Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
"On those days we have our own family gathering here," Klave said. "The restaurant seats 285 people and it's the only place we have large enough for our whole family."
Plus, the price is right.
And "Ace" Mullally's legend lives on.
Lally's Eastside Restaurant at 125 Plymouth St. NE in Le Mars is open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. A basic breakfast menu is offered until 11 a.m. Daily specials and a full menu are offered at 11 a.m. For carry-outs, call (712) 546-4406.
The chicken here is pretty spicy. And yes, so are the stories.
"Dad came to Le Mars from Fremont, Neb.," says Laura Klave, the youngest of 11 children raised by the late Mike and Marie Mullally. "He was selling Bibles and religious books. He met our mom at a dance."
He stayed. Together, Mike and Marie built a family, then found a way to feed it by opening Lally's Eastside Restaurant June 25, 1961.
Klave was 3 at the time.
"Dad had a produce business before then," she said. "He sold to Campbell's Soup. This building housed his trucks. But then the business with Campbell's changed" and Mullally, the middle man, was skipped.
So, he took his building and made a restaurant. He won the other half of the facility in a poker game.
"Dad was a pool shark who once played Willie Mosconi in Sioux City," Klave said. "He once won four cars one night while gambling," Klave said, adding that her father was also a pool shark who played Willie Mosconi in Sioux City.
And the name Lally's Eastside?
"It's short for Mullally, but it was also Dad's boxing name," Klave recalled. "He boxed in the 1930s under the name Ace Lally. The name Eastside (it's on the east side of Le Mars) comes from Mom's favorite movie, 'West Side Story.' She loved the music."
"Ace" the former boxer grew tired of being knocked down by food prices for his growing family. So, in 1961 he and Marie opened their restaurant. The staff was built right in.
"Dad said he could not afford to take Mom and us kids out for dinner," Klave said. "He wanted to offer a family dining atmosphere with affordable prices. He also wanted us kids to work."
And work they did. The oldest of the bunch, Mike Jr., wed Judy two weeks before the restaurant opened. Lally's didn't open until they returned. Mike Jr. went to work immediately for his parents. The couple bought out his parents in 1980, one year after Marie died. Mike Sr. died eight years later.
Mike Jr. marketed his Lally's Thousand Island dressing and barbecue sauce, and a limited amount is still sold at the restaurant. He and Judy sold the restaurant to Laura, the current owner, in 2002.
It's still a family affair. Kim Penne, who is married to the former Malea Mullally, manages the restaurant. Another sister, Susie Bunjes, has worked here since she was 14.
"If I need someone to work, I can call anyone in the family," Laura Klave said.
Brother Larry Mullally left Le Mars years ago to operate the popular Pantry Restaurant in downtown Storm Lake. He and his wife Jo now own and operate The Golden Pheasant at nearby Remsen.
Broasted chicken
Lally's reputation was built on broasted chicken. According to Bunjes, McCormick's had a distributorship next door to Lally's along Highway 3 in the early 1960s. The pros at McCormick's set Mike Mullally up with a broaster and showed him how to broast chicken.
He didn't know how to before he opened a restaurant?
"He couldn't make himself a hamburger," Bunjes said. "But he learned to broast chicken and he'd put the broasters on a bus and cater church dinners all over the area."
The first church dinner Lally's catered, they said, took place at Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Maryhill in rural Cherokee County.
Through trial and error, Mike Mullally developed a marinate for Lally's chicken. It soon became the talk of Plymouth County.
"He developed his own marination process which was the key to our broasted chicken," said Klave.
In time, Lally's would add a growing ribs enterprise to complement its chicken, daily specials and homemade soups and pies. Recently, Thursdays have become popular with Southern Fried Chicken offered throughout the day and evening. Prime Rib is served Saturday night.
There is no alcohol served here, a constant in keeping with the family theme.
"Dad tried having car hops here. He tried being open all night for a while," Klave said. "But most of all, he tried keeping food affordable for families."
His children have continued that legacy, still offering a two-piece chicken dinner for $5.25. The dinner includes potatoes, salad and dinner roll. A jumbo rib dinner featuring five ribs, potatoes, salad and a roll costs $8.25.
The restaurant is open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., closing only three times per year: Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
"On those days we have our own family gathering here," Klave said. "The restaurant seats 285 people and it's the only place we have large enough for our whole family."
Plus, the price is right.
And "Ace" Mullally's legend lives on.
Lally's Eastside Restaurant at 125 Plymouth St. NE in Le Mars is open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. A basic breakfast menu is offered until 11 a.m. Daily specials and a full menu are offered at 11 a.m. For carry-outs, call (712) 546-4406.
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