CINCINNATI -- The passing of Bill Lambrinides , the last of three brothers to launch the Skyline Chili chain with their father Nicholas in 1949, undoubtedly will spark many a memory among Cincinnatians who’ve loved their “Skyline Time.”

Perhaps among them will be President Barack Obama, who made a surprise visit to the Vine and Sixth streets parlor in 2012 and ordered a 4-way with beans and two coneys with mustard.

"His visit makes Skyline the only presidential parlor in Cincinnati," wrote Dann Woellert in his 2013 book "The Authentic History of Cincinnati Chili." "But to countless Cincinnatians, Skyline is better than presidential. It's their hometown favorite chili."

Greek-style chili is arguably the best-known regional food, and Skyline, though not the first to serve it here — Empress began in 1922 — has led the way for decades.

Nick Lambrinides and three of his five sons — Lambert and twins William and Chris — opened a parlor on Glenway Avenue in West Price Hill near six theaters, multiple Catholic churches and two major Catholic high schools.

It’s accurate to say the neighborhood gradually became "ravenous" for the spaghetti and hot dog dishes made from a secret recipe of blended spices that the Lambrinides served at a countertop and tables in the original store, according to Woellert.

Nick had been concocting his own chili formula ever since arriving in Cincinnati from Kastoria, Greece, in 1912. He even worked in an Empress kitchen on Fifth Street. His sons cooked at the Metropole and Netherland Plaza hotels.

The five brothers were reared in a second-floor apartment at 423 Plum St. — it’s Plum Street Café today — and attended church at St. Peter in Chains Cathedral on West Eighth Street. Their mother, Alexandra, never learned to speak English, so the boys translated for her.

Nick moved the family to Beech Avenue, which is a stone’s throw from the original Skyline Chili parlor, and the boys attended Western Hills High School.

After the war, the family was ready to launch its own chili parlor, choosing an old brick building near the intersection of Glenway and Warsaw avenues. It had been a dentist’s office and wholesale furniture store, Woellert wrote.

The second story of the building had a skylight, and the Lambrinides men thought that "Skylight" would be a good name for their new business until they took in the view of the city skyline from the second-story storage room’s window.

Prominent in that view were the Carew Tower and Central Trust Building, now PNC Tower. Both buildings were incorporated into the company’s colorful and iconic logo.

Woellert wrote that the first Skyline Chili customer, family friend Alex Chaldekas, paid his 20-cent bill with a dollar and got 80 cents back in change. That dollar stayed in the parlor for decades before Chris took it to Fort Lauderdale and opened a Skyline there.

The family opened a second parlor downtown near the Empress location in 1953, taking on their rival in a head-to-head battle for chili supremacy that Skyline eventually won.

Skyline's signature chili dishes were based on steaming spaghetti smothered in Greek stew.

A 3-way included finely grated cheese, a 4-way added onions or beans, and a 5-way had onions and beans. The menu also included hot dogs with chili and cheese and plain spaghetti and chili. Salad, bread, hot sauce, a baked potato, French fries and burritos round out today's menu favorites.

The Lambrinides privately-owned chain grew consistently for several decades with popular locations in Cleveland, Dayton, Indianapolis and Louisville.

Today, it has more than 120 franchises in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Florida.

The family sold majority ownership of Skyline for $24 million to a New England-based investment company in 1997, but little has changed from a Skyline customer's point of view.

The chili, which is made at a commissary in Fairfield, tastes the same, and people still debate which menu items are the best

Before they passed, Bill and Chris Lambrinides shared their favorite Skyline chili meals.

Bill said he preferred spaghetti with chili and onions with a side of hot sauce, and Chris said he leaned toward a 4-way with a cheese coney.

Skyline began packaging and selling frozen chili to local groceries in 1965 and offers an array of products at markets in 13 Midwestern and Eastern states and online. Expatriates of the Queen City can order various combinations of Skyline products, including the Coney Pack and 3-ways for $129.99, at www.cincyfaves.com .

It comes with 16 hot dogs, 16 buns, 4 boxes of frozen chili, 4 boxes of frozen spaghetti with chili, 3 packs of cheese, 2 boxes of oyster crackers, 2 bottles of hot sauce and 16 York Peppermint Patties, the only non-Skyline product the chain