Bars/restaurants that are sorely missed

[The Old Downtown Guy]

Hollies . . . home of the bacon burger . . . was a major highschool hangout . . . 1960 grad from Capitol Hill. A neighborhood friend was the nephew of the owners and we could just walk in the back door and scoop up an order of their on-site hand cut fries. McDonalds and Golden Point fifteen cent burgers had just come on the scene in those days so, nearly all of the drive inns were locally owned . . . Hamburger Spot, Hamburger Inn, Ranchers Daughter, West Oaks and one on May Avenue (name escapes me) that had candy striped decoration . . . lots of Northwest Classen traffic.

Herman's, a seafood place at 16th and Classen which became Triples . . . not bad either.

Hann's Bar-B-Que on East 23rd

The Cadet Club . . . a downtown deli

Micky's Coney Island in Stockyards and two or three other greasy spoons down there.

Cattleman's when it was owned by the Wade Family and frequented mostly by cattlemen and the Stockyard's Mafia. The cafe part was open 24/7

Knox Orange Inn . . . great hotdogs downtown next door to the Criterion Theater

Bishop's . . . an upscale white linen place downtown

The Rustic Inn . . . NW 39th and Portland . . . great late night spot.

Fine Foods . . . a mexican place about five blocks east of Shields on SE 29th.

The Classen Grill . . . late 80's early 90's era

The Wide Awake Cafe in Edmond

Dinko's in Norman . . . Oh Darlin'

Beverly's Chicken In The Rough at NW 23rd & Classen . . . when Beverly Osborn owned it.

The place below the Hi Lo Club that Vern Echols owned . . . can't remember the name for the life of me right now. Great sandwiches named after some regular patrons . . . charcoal burgers and rings . . . The Schnitzle . . . burger patty, beans and chili with a fried egg. It was also open real late.

My absolutely most missed restaurant is the Bit of Italy. It was an out of the way after hours place just off NW 39th Street about half way between Penn and May. It didn't open until 10PM and was the place to have a late night omlet or pizza. . . frequented by musicians, pimps and other colorful characters. Always a long line to get in. A guy named Eddie Peak ran the door . . . Putnam City grad that played sax in Vegas for a while.

But a new era has arrived . . . Irma's, Prairie Thunder, McNellies, 1492, Cafe Do Brazil, The Proabition Room, Rococo, Museum Cafe, The Metro, Coach House. Hopefully these and more new locally owned eateries will stem the tide of god-awful chains that populate most of the well traveled streets.

[warreng88]

Beverly's Chicken In The Rough at NW 23rd & Classen . . . when Beverly Osborn owned it.

You know they moved the location from Expressway and Penn down to Expressway and Independence? I still try to go there every once in a while. When my grandfather was still alive, he went there very weekday morning for about 15 years. Beverly was my mother's uncle, so I guess that makes him my great uncle. Too bad they closed so many of them.

[The Old Downtown Guy]

You know they moved the location from Expressway and Penn down to Expressway and Independence? I still try to go there every once in a while. When my grandfather was still alive, he went there very weekday morning for about 15 years. Beverly was my mother's uncle, so I guess that makes him my great uncle. Too bad they closed so many of them.

You may recall that Beverly Osborne was quite a horseman. My former father inlaw, Ned Jones, had one of Beverly's saddles on display in his western wear store in Stockyards for severaly years. It was decorated with his name and the Chicken in the Rough logo . . . very cool. You may also recall the Big Bev Burger . . . gigantic . . . and their inhouse donuts that were almost the size of a dinner plate.

I ate at the NW Expressway location a few times, but was in the NW 23rd and Classen restaurant at least twice a week for years and years. I usually sat at the counter and was waited on by Nel . . . one of two or three waitresses that worked there for twent five or so years. I still regret that I didn't buy up all of the logo dinnerware that the sold off after the place changed hands in the late 80's or early 90's.

[chatterdude]

Hollies . . . home of the bacon burger . . . was a major highschool hangout . . . 1960 grad from Capitol Hill. A neighborhood friend was the nephew of the owners and we could just walk in the back door and scoop up an order of their on-site hand cut fries. McDonalds and Golden Point fifteen cent burgers had just come on the scene in those days so, nearly all of the drive inns were locally owned . . . Hamburger Spot, Hamburger Inn, Ranchers Daughter, West Oaks and one on May Avenue (name escapes me) that had candy striped decoration . . . lots of Northwest Classen traffic.

Herman's, a seafood place at 16th and Classen which became Triples . . . not bad either.

Hann's Bar-B-Que on East 23rd

The Cadet Club . . . a downtown deli

Micky's Coney Island in Stockyards and two or three other greasy spoons down there.

Cattleman's when it was owned by the Wade Family and frequented mostly by cattlemen and the Stockyard's Mafia. The cafe part was open 24/7

Knox Orange Inn . . . great hotdogs downtown next door to the Criterion Theater

Bishop's . . . an upscale white linen place downtown

The Rustic Inn . . . NW 39th and Portland . . . great late night spot.

Fine Foods . . . a mexican place about five blocks east of Shields on SE 29th.

The Classen Grill . . . late 80's early 90's era

The Wide Awake Cafe in Edmond

Dinko's in Norman . . . Oh Darlin'

Beverly's Chicken In The Rough at NW 23rd & Classen . . . when Beverly Osborn owned it.

The place below the Hi Lo Club that Vern Echols owned . . . can't remember the name for the life of me right now. Great sandwiches named after some regular patrons . . . charcoal burgers and rings . . . The Schnitzle . . . burger patty, beans and chili with a fried egg. It was also open real late.

My absolutely most missed restaurant is the Bit of Italy. It was an out of the way after hours place just off NW 39th Street about half way between Penn and May. It didn't open until 10PM and was the place to have a late night omlet or pizza. . . frequented by musicians, pimps and other colorful characters. Always a long line to get in. A guy named Eddie Peak ran the door . . . Putnam City grad that played sax in Vegas for a while.

But a new era has arrived . . . Irma's, Prairie Thunder, McNellies, 1492, Cafe Do Brazil, The Proabition Room, Rococo, Museum Cafe, The Metro, Coach House. Hopefully these and more new locally owned eateries will stem the tide of god-awful chains that populate most of the well traveled streets.

What a great post!..thank you so much for the memories what a delight to read and remember all these places....

[ctchandler]

Don't know if anybody answered the question about Vern Echols place, but it was "The Patio". I make a Schnitzle at least every couple of months. It also had onions with French fries on the side and I paid extra for a slice of cheese on top of the chili. His employees stayed with him for years, I think his cook had been there for almost thirty years and his newest employee had been there about fifteen years. Also, the comment you posted with yours mentions Beverly's on 23rd, how about the original on I believe Sheridan, but maybe California near Broadway
C. T.

What a great post!..thank you so much for the memories what a delight to read and remember all these places....

[Prunepicker]

Don't know if anybody answered the question about Vern Echols place,
but it was "The Patio". I make a Schnitzle at least every couple of
months. It also had onions with French fries on the side and I paid
extra for a slice of cheese on top of the chili. His employees stayed
with him for years, I think his cook had been there for almost thirty
years and his newest employee had been there about fifteen years.
Also, the comment you posted with yours mentions Beverly's on 23rd,
how about the original on I believe Sheridan, but maybe California near
Broadway
C. T.

There was a sign behind the cash register that listed the employees
and how long they had worked at the Patio. Virginia had been there
for over 30 years. I don't remember the others at the moment but
the shortest time was 5 years and that was in 1981.

Great onion rings and I swear that Virginia invented/created the
Caesar Burger. Awesome.

Beverly's was east of N. Walker on W. Sheridan, then Grand Avenue.

[SamW]

The place below the Hi Lo Club that Vern Echols owned was The Patio, a great place anytime.

[Bullbear]

The place below the Hi Lo Club that Vern Echols owned was The Patio, a great place anytime.

Loved the patio.. most sundays my group of hungover friends took the big round table in the back. he would normally save it for us at about 11. such a great place!

[ctchandler]

The place below the Hi Lo Club that Vern Echols owned was The Patio, a great place anytime.

SamW,
My favorite item at The Patio was the Schnitzel. A burger patty topped with chili, cheese, chopped onions and a fried egg, with French fries and baked beans on the side. And all of the long time employees. Remember the sign stating how long each employee had worked there?
C. T.