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IRL: MCL Cafeterias to Support St. James's Indy 500 Effort

11 May 1998

INDIANAPOLIS - When Jim Nabors sings "Back Home Again in Indiana" on May 24 prior to the start of the Indianapolis 500, he'll sing about Indiana institutions like new-mown hayfields, sycamore trees and the moonlight on the Wabash.

With a little luck, another Hoosier institution called MCL Cafeterias will be part of that scene via a decal on Lyn St. James's Lifetime Television G-Force Infiniti No. 90.

MCL Cafeterias is the largest family-owned cafeteria chain in the nation. It was founded in Indianapolis in 1950 and today it consists of 27 cafeterias in Indiana, Ohio and Illinois which served over 10 million guests last year. With 10 MCL Cafeterias in Indianapolis alone and a menu of old-fashioned, made-from-scratch cooking, MCL Cafeterias' connection with America's heartland runs true and deep.

This is the first year that MCL has actually been a sponsor of a car entered in the event for which Indianapolis is most famous, however.

"We offer very good, affordable food, and we've been increasing our carry-out business because today people don't always have time to cook," noted Mark Lawrance, vice president of the chain. "Lyn St. James is a classy role model for millions, and we're proud to be associated with her.

"Lyn has always impressed us as someone who tries to do things right, and that's the way we are at MCL Cafeterias too," he added. "We have a four-point mission of serving our customers, our employees, ourselves and our families, and if we do all those things well we'll have served society. We offer very good, wholesome cooking, and we're proud of our company's history and excited about its future."

Some of MCL Cafeterias' specialties include MCL's famous fried chicken, carved roast beef, baked fish and eight other entrees every day. The restaurants also feature fresh-baked pies and other desserts baked from scratch, including MCL's famous cinnamon rolls.

"I love the vegetables," said St. James, who as an athlete is committed to eating properly. MCL Cafeteria offers 11 home-cooked vegetables every day.

The business association between MCL Cafeterias and Lyn St. James actually began in January when MCL sponsored the midget she drove in a race at the RCA Dome. The owner of that midget, Norman Line of Pennington Line Realty, brought St. James and MCL Cafeterias together at that point, and now, four months later, the association has spread to the world's largest single-day sporting event in the world, the Indianapolis 500.