Original owner of Allen's World Famous Hamburgers dies

ATHENS - Allen Lee Saine, the original owner of Allen&#39;s World Famous Hamburgers, died Sunday. He was 84. <br> <br> The restaurant, which was mentioned in a song by the B-52s, was an Athens landmark that employed hundreds of University of Georgia students, including U.S. Sen. Zell Miller in the 1950s. <br> <br> Saine and his wife, Mary Lou Gatlin Saine, opened the restaurant in 1954 after leaving behind a dairy farm in Morgan County. <br> <br> ``My husband, he loved people,&#39;&#39; said Mary Lou Gatlin Saine, who also ran the business and was married to Saine for six decades. ``A lot of the students sort of looked on us like mama and daddy.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> In 1968, Saine leased the restaurant to Billy Slaughter and later sold it outright. Another longtime owner, Danny Self, died June 18, but Allen&#39;s World Famous Hamburgers still operates under the original name. <br> <br> Saine did maintenance work for a university sorority and many area homeowners after selling the restaurant. His wife said he was still working when he suffered a stroke in August. <br> <br> The funeral is scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday at Bernstein Funeral Home in Athens.