Wake services were held Monday evening for Lowell Hawthorne, the Yonkers man who founded the Golden Krust Bakery and Grill, a popular Caribbean food chain.

The 57-year-old Westchester resident immigrated to the United States from Jamaica and quickly rose through the ranks in the restaurant industry, eventually opening his own bakery and expanding an empire over the years.

He was found dead in his factory in the Claremont section of the Bronx on Dec. 2 with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Hollness said of Hawthorne in a statement, "My condolences to the friends, family and employees of Jamaica-born Lowell Hawthorne, CEO of Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill. He headed the largest Caribbean franchise chain in the U.S., with more than 120 stores."

Wake services were held at Grace Baptist Church on 52nd Street and Sixth Avenue in Mount Vernon from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Hawthorne will be laid to rest on Tuesday at the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn.