Restaurateur Tony Roma, 78

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Tony Roma, whose casual rib joint became an international restaurant empire after it caught the attention of a Texas financier in the 1970s, died yesterday of lung cancer at a hospice. He was 78.

Roma opened his first barbecue restaurant in North Miami, Fla., in the early 1970s, according to his company's Web site. The restaurant originally specialized in steaks and burgers, but that changed when Roma and his chef decided to offer barbecued ribs as a weekend special.

The ribs proved so popular that they came to dominate the menu, and Roma's restaurants eventually opened across the United States and in Japan, England and Canada.

The company went international after the late Texas financier and Dallas Cowboys owner Clint Murchison Jr. visited Miami for the 1976 Super Bowl and stopped at Roma's restaurant.

He enjoyed the food so much, according to the corporate Web site, that he purchased the majority U.S. franchise rights from Roma and established a jointly owned company.

The restaurants expanded rapidly through the 1980s and now number more than 250.

Roma lived in Palm Springs, but moved to the hospice in Hemet, 90 miles southeast of Los Angeles, about 10 days ago, said Faye Otto, the hospice owner and a friend of the restaurateur.