Celebrating the Life of one of Lincolnwood’s First Cooks

Granddaughter of one of Lou’s first cooks shares photos of her late grandmother. 

Anita Charlene Sappington was hired as one of our first cooks at our original Lincolnwood location. We were recently tagged by her granddaughter on Instagram, who was honoring her grandmother after her death by calling her a “legend in our household.” The picture she shared was of Charlene and Lou together during the early days of Lou Malnati’s.

Charene began as a cook before going on to being a training cook, working at River North during the latter half of her career. We reached out to her granddaughter to request more information and to share Anita’s story, which she was thrilled to do –

“That would be amazing!!! I can’t thank you all enough. My grandmother started out at the Lincolnwood location and retired from Wells. I believe she worked for Lou’s for 25 years. She even had a ring that she was gifted during her retirement”

She went on to provide us with a number of photos of Anita, including a couple with Lou. Take a look below at some of what she was able to share with us in order to celebrate the life and legacy of her grandmother.