In 1950, Indianapolis cousins Charles McGaughey and George Laughner founded MCL. They were cousins to the founder of MCL’s competitor . A third partner, Charles Chandler, later joined them. MCL opened its first restaurant, which no longer exists, at 38th Street and Sherman Drive, then considered the city’s northside. Two years later, McGaughey, Laughner, and Chandler opened a second cafeteria on the eastside.
During the 1960s, MCL continued to expand, opening out-of-town and out-of-state cafeterias. In 1973, Laughner retired from the business, and McGaughey bought out Laughner’s share of the enterprise the following year. Chandler sold his interest in the company in 1984, at which point MCL became wholly owned by the McGaughey family. In 1987, Craig McGaughey, son of the cofounder, purchased all outstanding shares of the company from relatives to become MCL’s sole owner.
In 2007, McGaughy changed the name of the chain to MCL Restaurant and Bakery, acknowledging the decline of the popularity of cafeteria-style restaurants but made few alterations to company operations and production. MCL has 13 locations across Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois. Eight of the cafeterias are in the Indianapolis area.
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