A family affair.

• Author: Campbell, Melissa
• Position: Lucky Wishbone owners win small business award - Brief Article

Lucky Wishbone founders. George and Peggy Brown received this year's. Alaska Small Business Persons of the Year award, but they know they couldn't have done any of it without their extended family: their employees.

Walk into the Lucky Wishbone at lunchtime on any given day and look around. Servers bounce around with stacks of food on their arms. The cooks do a seemingly synchronized dance at the grill. Add to that the constant sounds of phones ringing, the milkshake machine whirring and the food sizzling and one gets a fair picture.

It doesn't matter if it's a beautiful sunny day or a snow-filled, ice-encrusted mess outside, hordes of people are willing to spend a piece of their lunch hour waiting in line just to get a table.

It doesn't take long to get a seat. And the best is yet to come.

The Wishbone is famous around Anchorage for its pan-fried chicken, but that's not why Dan Hansen has braved the crowds for a weekly jaunt to the downtown joint for the last-18 or so years.

"Their cheeseburger deluxe is the best burger in town," he said, as he stood at the end of the line, near the door. "And I particularly like their diet cherry Cokes."

Hansen, like many of his fellow patrons, couldn't say who George and Peggy Brown were. But he could point them out in a crowd.

Most Wishbone customers don't know their names, but they do recognize George and Peggy as the heart of this Anchorage landmark. George is the elder gent who will often hang out of the drive-thru window to hand over a bag of food. Or he'll say something to make you laugh as he wipes down a table nearby.

Peggy's face lights up with a sweet smile as she greets customers and shows them to a table. She's always the one who makes sure things run smoothly.

Then there's the food. The chicken is fresh. The burgers are lean. And the milkshakes are to die for. It's all what makes the place so popular.

The Browns worked for nearly half a century to make the Lucky Wishbone what it is. It's what granted them the Alaska Small Business Persons of the Year award from the Small Business Administration.

Today, George and Peggy aren't seen in the restaurant as much. Their son John-who is the spitting image of his dad-takes care of the day-to-day operations now, kind of John laughs when he says this, as he bows his head and holds up his cellphone. "Yeah, well, dad's really still in charge."

The Browns winter in Arizona nowadays. George can't stay away for long, though. He'll fly up every few weeks just...