Only two White Tavern locations remained following the effects of World War II rationing. In 1946, Lederer opened a 14-stool roast beef sandwich stand named Jerry's, in Lexington, Kentucky. At approximately the same time, Warren W. Rosenthal, a student at the University of Kentucky, rented an apartment in Lederer's home; they subsequently became friends, and Rosenthal joined the Jerry's Restaurants company in 1948. Rosenthal became the company's chief executive officer in 1957, and franchising began that year. Into the 1960s, the company expanded with a chain of drive-in restaurants. Rosenthal became the company president in 1963, following Lederer's death from a heart attack that year.
