Steak and Ale, Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour, ShowBiz Pizza Place, Sambo’s, Highland Park Cafeteria, Nickerson Farms, Wyatt’s Cafeteria, Ranch Hand Bar-B-Q, Furr’s Cafeteria, City Café, Underwood’s Barbecue, Split Rail, Shotgun Sam’s Pizza, Zuider Zee, Bonanza Steakhouse, Captain Cook’s, and I could go on and on!
Now I hear that Luby’s Cafeteria and Fuddrucker’s Restaurant chains are facing liquidation.
What is next? Dairy Queen, El Fenix, Dunston’s, The Mansion might be on that list one of these days!
Bob Luby opened the first one in San Antonio in 1947 with the idea of serving good, fresh food in a place as safe and comfortable as home, where customers would desire to return.
Entire families have made them “part of the family,” and some folks have eaten at least one meal per day there pretty much all their lives. It has been a “cafeteria-style” eatery, where folks have traditionally pushed trays down a line as they chose “comfort foods,” such as meat loaf, fried okra, “mac and cheese,” fish, and coconut cream or pecan pie slices. The place has long been known for its LuAnn Platter—entrée, two sides, and a roll, and usually iced tea!—just right for children and/or “seniors.”
Fuddruckers was begun by a “Dallasite,” Phil Romano, to compete with fast food burger joints (McDonald’s, etc.) but with more “pizzazz and price!” He offered a “bigger and better hamburger” with a “self-service add-ons” bar of lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, and a special cheese sauce!
My family has patronized these restaurants quite often through the years and do not want to see them lost to the next generations! If the ones in this area somehow remain open, let’s be sure to eat there often!
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