KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Mike Donegan, owner of the world-famous fried chicken restaurant, Stroud's, died Sunday, according to a Facebook post from a relative.
Donegan was 72.
The restaurant opened in 1933 and began serving pan-fried chicken during World War II, according to the restaurant's Facebook page.
Donegan and Jim Hogan, bartenders at Kelly's Westport Inn, bought the restaurant in 1977.
The restaurant's crispy pan-fried chicken, plentiful sides and cinnamon rolls drew long lines of hungry customers waiting for a chance at the famous food.
Connor Duncan shared memories of his cousin on Facebook.
"As a lot of you may know, yesterday we lost a legend," Duncan wrote. "The owner of the famous Stroud's restaurant, Kelly's (in Westport) best customer, and my cousin Mike Donegan passed away.
"So many things could be said about him that I find it hard to know where to start... I will go with this. If I could sum him up in one word, it's 'giving.'
Duncan said for nearly 40 years, Donegan hosted a "spectacle of a Fourth of July party" for family and Stroud's employees.
"Mike would work all day on food, drinks, and his garage full of fireworks that he spent thousands of dollars on each year," Duncan said. "He would end the night with a firework show so big that all the neighbors around him got to enjoy."
