Furr's

[old okie]

Just went to the Furr's on 63rd for lunch. The manager told us that tomorrow (the 15th) is their last day to be open. That will leave only the Furr's Buffet in Moore in the metro area. Sort of sad, really, as there were always lots of we "retirees" who could be seen eating lunch in the Furr's each time we went. The mgr said corporate was going to concentrate on the Dallas, Houston, & San Antonio markets, but they are leaving the Moore location open--at least for now.

Another "fixture" in the restaurant business down the drain. Too bad. It was one place where hubby & I could "agree" on the choices of food!

We feel really sad for the employees, as many of them had been there for the years and years that we patronized the place.

[poe]

That is sad. My family and I would frequent the 63rd Street Furr's when we lived in Edmond. I was practically raised on Furr's; the buffets just aren't the same...

[OKCisOK4me]

Maybe that shopping center (the name of which is eluding my mind right now) is trying to get rid of every tenant who's name starts with an F.

[kevinpate]

It would surprise me if the Moore one closed. Seems packed whenever I drive by.

[Easy180]

It would surprise me if the Moore one closed. Seems packed whenever I drive by.

My initial thought as well... no way they shut down that location anytime soon

[yukong]

Kind of strange when you consider that in the 60s and 70s, Oklahoma City had more cafeterias per capita than any other city in America. Amazing.

[Martin]

i realize that particular furr's location hasn't been a cafeteria for some time now... but i was wondering, is okc down to two cafeterias now? all i can think of is luby's and boulevard. -M

[boscorama]

Fffffrench Market? Ffffurrs? What else?

[ctchandler]

OKCisOK4me,
How about French Market Mall?
C. T.

Maybe that shopping center (the name of which is eluding my mind right now) is trying to get rid of every tenant who's name starts with an F.

[old okie]

i realize that particular furr's location hasn't been a cafeteria for some time now... but i was wondering, is okc down to two cafeterias now? all i can think of is luby's and boulevard. -M

The 63rd St. location was still a cafeteria; the "new" one in Moore is the buffet. I don't know of any other cafeterias left except Boulevard; is there still a Luby's around? I thought the one out at Crossroads was another type of restaurant now.

Certainly miss Queen Anne & of course the wonderful Anna Maud.

[old okie]

It would surprise me if the Moore one closed. Seems packed whenever I drive by.

The problem we've found with the Moore location is decreasing quality of food and lack of cleanliness of the restaurant. We used to go a couple of times a week the first year or so they were open; loved their Thanksgiving spread. Then, the quality of the food began to decline. Next, it was the cleanliness of the place and the attention to details--like the desserts being "melted" by the hot lights, when things should have been room temp or cool/cold. We just went there the end of July after many months of not going...and sad to say, we were totally disappointed. That's why we drove clear across town to go the 63rd St. location.

[Martin]

The 63rd St. location was still a cafeteria; the "new" one in Moore is the buffet. I don't know of any other cafeterias left except Boulevard; is there still a Luby's around? I thought the one out at Crossroads was another type of restaurant now.

you're right... while furr's heavily markets the all you can eat format in every store, at older locations like french market mall you're still being served off of a cafeteria line instead of a serve yourself buffet.

there's still a luby's at may and britton, as far as i know. the former crossroads location is currently vacant but was briefly a sports bar called zeke's.

[ljbab728]

It hasn't been what I would call a true "cafeteria" since it changed to an "all you can eat" concept instead of "a la carte".

[jn1780]

The 63rd St. location was still a cafeteria; the "new" one in Moore is the buffet. I don't know of any other cafeterias left except Boulevard; is there still a Luby's around? I thought the one out at Crossroads was another type of restaurant now.

Certainly miss Queen Anne & of course the wonderful Anna Maud.

There's lots of "cafeterias" in the city.....inside assisted living centers and retirement communities.

Some of the nicer places are pretty decent and the clientele doesn't have to drive.

[Jim Kyle]

I don't know of any other cafeterias left except Boulevard; is there still a Luby's around?

There's still a Luby's at Britton Road and May, and their "LuAnn" plate is a good buy for most anyone but especially for seniors. It's an entree with two sides for a fixed price that's less than that of the entree itself in most cases...

[OKCisOK4me]

Fffffrench Market? Ffffurrs? What else?

Fffffffffffamous Ffffffffooootwear

OKCisOK4me,
How about French Market Mall?
C. T.

It dawned on me after I posted that, yes, that is the name of it ;-)

[SoonerDave]

My family loved the original Furr's, and we frequented the one on Shields for many years when the kids were little. Good, fresh, hot (the baked cod was especially great). When the slop-trough opened in Moore, we went *one time*, and I realized I was just shoving my way through a rebranded Golden Corral, and the food tasted like that's where it came from, too. The kicker was you paid up front, and I was never more annoyed than when I was asked as I went through the door how much of a tip I wanted to leave - for a now entirely self-serve restaurant. Seriously??

It may be named Furr's, but that's where the resemblance ended.

The death of cafeterias is, to me, really sad. I'm not an old-timer, and remember many very nice meals at a cafeteria. Its a concept that deserves a better fate. There used to be a very nice place called Morrison's Cafeteria on I-240 where Eskridge Honda now sits (same building, they just gutted/remodeled it). And Dodson's was, for me, one of the classic Oklahoma eateries of any kind, for its great selection, wonderful quality and service, and generally thoroughly civilized atmosphere.

[ctchandler]

SoonerDave,
Dodson's was a place I grew up with, even had my rehearsal dinner there. Joe was a very good pianist and always played easy listening piano arrangements so you could talk and enjoy the music at the same time. As for Anna Maude's, I don't think I've ever been to a better cafeteria. A name escapes me, not a place in the Anna Maude class, but a decent place on the Northwest corner of Northwest Expressway and Rockwell on the West side of the strip center. I think it started with a 'W".
C. T.

[SoonerDave]

SoonerDave,
Dodson's was a place I grew up with, even had my rehearsal dinner there. Joe was a very good pianist and always played easy listening piano arrangements so you could talk and enjoy the music at the same time. As for Anna Maude's, I don't think I've ever been to a better cafeteria. A name escapes me, not a place in the Anna Maude class, but a decent place on the Northwest corner of Northwest Expressway and Rockwell on the West side of the strip center. I think it started with a 'W".
C. T.

After my mom retired several years ago, she used to LOVE going to Anna Maude's and/or Queen Anne. She just hated it when they closed. They offered her favorite vegetables made exactly the way she liked them, and that was no small achievement!

One of my favorite memories of Dodson's from when I was just a kid was going to my grandmother's house on SW 56th one summer day, and we all decided (mom, grandmother, and I) thought a slice of Dodson's chocolate ice box pie sounded like a great treat. So we went up there, bought a pie, took it back to my grandmother's house, and my mom proceeded to cut the ENTIRE pie into THREE monstrous slices, and we devoured it in about five minutes Keep in mind my mom is a ridiculously skinny/petite person, and her mom was even smaller/skinnier still, so this kind of indulgence was no problem for them. We had about, oh, 10 seconds of "guilt" for our gluttony, then laughed about how delicious it was and what a fun time it was. I wouldn't trade that memory for anything, although it would send the food police into a tailspin these days, I guess

Dodson's, also, is a memory of a better time for my family as a youngster, before my dad walked out on us. My folks fought a lot, and they ultimately split (well, as I said, dad just left), but I do have nice kid memories of several nice Sunday lunches there....

[Larry OKC]

It hasn't been what I would call a true "cafeteria" since it changed to an "all you can eat" concept instead of "a la carte".

You could still get it a la carte, but it could easily cost you more than the all you can eat price. I was in there yesterday and noticed their 4 item special which consisted of 1 entree and 3 sides (maybe a dessert & roll, can't remember now) and it was only $1 cheaper than the AYCE price. Think this may have been aimed at folks getting it to go.

The AYCE was supposed to have been a limited time thing when it started several years back now, but it stuck.

Unfortunately, Furrs started closing locations all over the metro area, 1 by 1 over the decades and only building 1 new one (buffet only). There used to be ones at 63rd & MacArthur, Shepherd Mall, 23rd and Meridian, 1-240 & Shields, Mid-Del etc

What I liked about Furrs over some of the other cafeterias, was Furrs food actually had flavor/seasoning. So much of the other places was bland/old peoples food.

[jdcf]

Wyatt's Cafeteria was at Rockwell and NW Expressway. There was also a location at Bryant Square in Edmond.

[RadicalModerate]

Ah . . . yes . . . Furr's Cafeteria in French Market Mall. I ate there once. It was the favorite dinner stop of the guy who was driving late one afternoon maybe 25 years ago.

The one visit reminded me of my childhood (different state, same Furr's). When I was a kid and the phrase "go out to dinner" came up about once or twice a month, my Dad's preferencdemand was always Furrs. Why? "Because you can get anything you would want to eat there!" He was talking about the variety available. The only thing he EVER ordered--and by EVER I mean always was the "Chopped Steak" with brown gravy. Like maybe a hundred times.

I will say this about Furr's . . . Everything there was better than anything that came out of a can or box bearing labels like Chef-boy-ar-Dee or Mrs. Pauls or Banquet.

So, if you disregard the speed of the line at one of these places . . . wouldn't they be considered "Fast Food"?

[boscorama]

Luanne Platter, Bobby Hill, Dale Gribble. Man, I miss King of the Hill.

[SoonerDave]

Wyatt's Cafeteria was at Rockwell and NW Expressway. There was also a location at Bryant Square in Edmond.

And I'm almost certain that the Morrison's I mentioned earlier was originally opened as a Wyatt's, now that I think of it!

[Martin]

i thought it wa the other way around... morrison's on i-240 became wyatt's. -M