Mention the Beverly Hills Café among friends and the conversation quickly turns to the Miami Lakes restaurant’s famed honey yeast rolls.
Baked fresh daily, they were the creation of restaurant founder Mark Ivan Richman.
Richman, 68, of Coconut Grove, died April 16 from a rare disease, his family said.
The Miami Lakes location was the first for the chain founded in 1979 that at one time had 13 locations, as well as other branded restaurants, Richman’s nephew Spencer Young said on May 11.
“The Miami Lakes location will continue to remain open and will continue Mark’s legacy,” Young said.
Maria Camp has managed the restaurant at 7321 Miami Lakes Drive in the Cypress Village Shopping Center for 17 years.
“Mark always considered everyone that worked for him as his family,” Camp said. “He was loyal.”
And Richman was generous too, she said.
“He encouraged employees to take food home to their families,” she said. “He cared about their well-being, that they were rested and fed.”
Born in Cleveland, Richman graduated from Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla., where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration, his family said.
According to a funeral home’s obituary, Richman also created the recipes for homemade soups and salad dressings for the cafe’s lengthy menu that seemingly has something for everyone.
Whether hungry for a steak, salad (there are 28 options), fish dishes, a burger, Mexican or Italian cuisine, you can find it on the cafe’s menu.
Eggs -- served scrambled, in an omelet or a frittata -- means diners can get breakfast during any of the hours the cafe is open, from 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Sunday; 9:30 p.m. Monday - Thursday and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Portions are so large that each dish is enough for two or even three meals and are sold at affordable prices.
Kids, the health-conscious and picky eaters may all find something to sate their appetites at Beverly Hills Cafe.
If the comments and photos on his obituary are any indication, Richman liked to enjoy life, to travel, go boating and be around friends and family.
In addition to Young, Richman is survived by his mother, Norma Becker Richman; his sister Sharon and her husband Charles Deutchman; nephew Daniel and niece Alexandra Deutchman and life-long friend Lynn Parks.
A memorial service was held at Riverside Gordon Memorial Chapels in North Miami Beach on April 24.