Brookshire Inn - Lubbock, Texas

at 2009 Broadway, Lubbock , 79401 United States

1. Steakhouse
2. Organization

A page devoted to the Brookshire Inn Restaurant - the great employees and patrons! The restaurant was located in Lubbock, Texas back in the 70s Short History of Brookshire Inns of Lubbock, TX In May, 1969, Bill and Gena Brooks opened the Brookshire Inn restaurant and club in a remodeled historic home in Lubbock. It was on Broadway, just down the street from Texas Tech, and is currently the home of Gardski’s Loft, looking much the same as it did in 1969. It was a steak house patterned after the “Cork and Cleaver” and “Steak and Ale” chains which were both very popular and successful at the time. Wayne Bergeron who had been with Cork and Cleaver brought his knowledge and experience to the Brookshire and became the first manager. In those days a salad bar was a novel idea and Brookshire featured a 40 lb block of cheddar cheese for customers to chop off slabs and all salad dressings were made from scratch. Since Lubbock was a dry county, alcohol was served to the public only by means of private clubs and could be purchased by individuals only on the “strip” outside the city limits. In 1971, Bill, as president of the Lubbock Restaurant Association, coordinated the support of the local beer industry, the package stores and the churches to support a referendum for liquor by the drink in the city of Lubbock. In this proposal restaurants and bars would have to purchase their alcohol from the purveyors on the “strip”, no alcohol would be sold in the city limits except by those who had a substantial percentage of sales as food, and local ministers would not preach against it from the pulpit. In return, none of these groups would support a movement to get the sale of alcohol anywhere else inside the city limits. The referendum passed and by state law that now prevailed for liquor by the drink; no alcohol could be sold within 500 feet of a school or church, measured from front door to front door. Even though there was a school backing up to the restaurant across the street, the front door to front door rule held. Reportedly, the largest Church of Christ west of the Mississippi was across the street in front and narrowly met the 500 ft rule. On May 11, 1970, the tornado that ripped through Lubbock destroyed most of the building that housed the “Brook” as the employees fondly referred to it. The restaurant was about half full at the time and miraculously, no one was seriously injured. Hard to believe tales are still told about how people managed to get out and how people escaped injury. The most bizarre story was about a woman who was scrambling to get under a table when the chimney fell on the table and caught her hair. Her husband picked up some scissors from the top of the table and cut her hair to release her. Although they were repeatedly told the only scissors in the restaurant were downstairs in the kitchen where they cut the lobster shells, she and her husband insisted through the years scissors were used to cut her hair, not a steak knife as Brooks always suspected. There were shards of glass in the padded walls outlining where a customer’s head was but he experienced no cuts. That customer was Lubbock architect Deane Pierce who remains a close friend of the Brooks’ and is currently designing their Boulder, CO residence. Brooks took all the steaks, lobsters and other perishable food to Lake Ransom Canyon and invited the public for a picnic. The restaurant was rebuilt in keeping with the previous structure and reopened in September. A second restaurant, Brookshire Inn South was built on 50th St. in 1972 which featured live entertainment, and a USDA meat processing plant was built behind the original restaurant. That facility now houses the kitchen for Gardski’s. Nearly all employees of both restaurants attended Texas Tech and at one time there were 5 sorority and 4 fraternity presidents on staff. These young people worked hard and made good money (waiters made about $10/hr when minimum wage was $3.60 and the 6 oz sirloin sold for $2.50 including salad bar.) After Brooks sold the restaurants in 1977 many of the employees maintained ties and many have become successful restaurateurs. In April of this year (2007) former manager, Gerald Brummett, who now lives outside of Golden, CO, began contacting former employees. He and Bob Birdwell, who owns the Lone Star Oyster Bar in Ft. Worth, searched diligently to find as many as they could remember. Doug Cassel joined the search. They knew that some other managers and employees owned and/or operated restaurants after their departure from Brookshire but they discovered more as their search became broader: Harold Akin, Stubbs’s Bar B Q in Lubbock (deceased) Don Bingham, Bingham’s Bar B Q in Lubbock and Ruidoso, NM (deceased) Steve Davis and his wife, the former Pam Strong, in Copper Mountain, CO David Frazier and Marc Redus, national chains Harrigan’s, Don Pablo’s, Apple South Pat Gooden, Cody Cattle Co, Midland and Odessa Joel Greer Santa Fe Junction, Lubbock and Tia’s Narong Indachandr, Ronnie’s, Lubbock David McDougal, Winter Park, CO and catering in Denver, CO Phil Morrow, The Depot, Lubbock and Ocean Rock, Ft. Worth (deceased) Jeff Osborn (Mgr. of Silver Fox Restaurant, Frisco, TX) Pat Snuffer, 8 Snuffer’s Restaurants, Dallas Metroplex Joe Ward, Southern Sea and Michael’s, San Angelo, TX Mark Wright, Chimy’s in Ft. Worth and Lubbock Reunion in 2007: Brookshire staffers gather after 30 years Many former employees use experience to start own restaurants Little did Bill and Gena Brooks realize in May 1969 that their new Lubbock restaurant, the Brookshire Inn, would create a young and enthusiastic staff of waiters and waitresses who years later would impact the face of the Texas and American restaurant landscape. The Brookshire Inn, a casual dining steakhouse patterned after Steak and Ale, opened in a former two-story home on Broadway, just east of the Texas Tech campus. After eight years of keeping scores of Texas Tech students gainfully and happily employed - and thousands of West Texas diners in steak heaven - the Brookshire Inn sold and the old home on Broadway was transformed into Gardski's Loft. Bill and Gena moved to San Angelo in 1977 and opened a restaurant called Southern Sea. The Brookshire Inn waiters and waitresses graduated from Tech and scattered, never to be together as a group again. Provided by Gerald Brummett Among Those attending the reunion in Dallas of former Brookshire Inn employees were, standing from left, Bill Brooks, Pat Snuffer, Bob Birdwell, David Frazier, and Phil Morrow. Seated from left are Jeff Osborn, Ronnie Indachandar, Joel Greer and David McDougal. Until last weekend. After more than 30 years, the former Brookshire Inn employees held a reunion in Dallas. An e-mail campaign netted 120 people and more than 60 came. Typical of their days together in the mid-'70s in Lubbock, their reunion was a four-day party. It began Aug. 31 as folks flew in from both coasts and gathered at the Park Cities Hilton in Dallas. They headed over to Fort Worth to visit three restaurants, each owned by former Brookshire Inn waiters. Recipe for success Joel Greer, who owns Santa Fe Junction in Lubbock, said she learned four things while working at The Brookshire Inn to build a successful business: • Take care of the customer, no matter what it takes. • Take care of each other. • Take care of the money, products, facilities and tools. • Have fun. Repeat daily. The Brookshire Inn legacyMany former employees of The Brookshire Inn have gone on to successful careers in the restaurant industry. Here are some of them: • Bob Birdwell owns the Lone Star Oyster Bar in Fort Worth. • Phil Morrow (deceased) owned Ocean Rock in Fort Worth as well as The Depot in Lubbock. • Mark Wright owns Chimy's in Fort Worth and in Lubbock. • Pat Snuffer owns Snuffer's, which has eight locations throughout the Metroplex. • Joel Greer started Sante Fe Junction in Lubbock as well as the Tia's national Mexican food chain. • Jeff Osborn was also involved in Tia's and now manages the Silver Fox Restaurant in Frisco. • David Frazier and Marc Redus created three national chains: Don Pablo's, Harrigan's and Apple South. They sold the chains for millions of dollars. • Ronnie Indachandar owns Ronnie's in Lubbock. • Pat Gooden owned Cody Cattle Co. in Midland and Odessa. • David McDougal owns a large catering business in Denver. • Harold Akin works with Stubb's BBQ. • Joe Ward owns Southern Sea and Michael's in San Angelo. On Sept. 1, 2007 the official reunion was held in Dallas at Snuffer's Preston Center. It was hosted by former Brookshire Inn head waiter Pat Snuffer, the silver-haired owner of a multimillion-dollar Dallas restaurant chain that bears his name. Snuffer's is a hamburger chain in Dallas that has eight locations throughout the Metroplex. Snuffer is quick to point to his experience at the Brookshire Inn as the solid foundation for his business success. And he's not the only one - at least 13 former Brookshire employees went on to open restaurants. "Many of us took the lessons we learned at the Brookshire and translated them into our own concepts," said Snuffer. "We all saw that running a restaurant, or any business, can be and ought to be both profitable and fun." Dallas singer-songwriter Brice Beaird, a partner in Beaird and Boone Marketing, learned the restaurant business waiting tables at "the Brook," as it was called, before going into restaurant marketing, where he developed major promotions for clients including Bennigan's, Steak and Ale, Chili's and TGI Friday's. "At the Brook, service was paramount," recalled Beaird. "I think we all learned so much about service and dealing with people. It was a great job for learning and for having fun." From 1969 to 1977, the Brookshire Inn, plus its second location on 50th Street, was the place for Tech students to work. They made $10 an hour waiting tables when the minimum wage was $3.60 an hour. In those days, a 6-ounce sirloin steak with a salad bar cost $2.50. All new employees washed dishes for weeks before being promoted to busboys. Finally they made it to the waitstaff, where trainers like Snuffer taught them the business from the Brookshire Inn perspective. At one point, there were five Tech sorority presidents and four Tech fraternity presidents on staff. On May 11, 1970, the tornado that ripped through Lubbock destroyed much of the Brookshire Inn. The restaurant was half full at the time and, miraculously, nobody in the building was seriously injured. The building was rebuilt and the Brookshire Inn reopened in September. "It ended up being a good thing for us," recalled Gena Brooks. "After the tornado, we were able to refinance the restaurant at 3 percent interest." Bob Birdwell, proprietor of the Lone Star Oyster Bar in Fort Worth, recalls those days with great fondness. "We lived and worked in an environment where everyone helped everyone else. We needed each other. And many of us lived together, worked together and played together." And now, looking through a 30-year prism, many of the former employees can clearly see how the unique working environment that Bill Brooks created on Broadway in 1969 changed the course of their lives, helped them create many successful restaurant concepts and left behind a legacy in the restaurant world that is best described as a phenomenon. "People have been coming up to me and telling me what a difference my husband made in their lives," said Gena Brooks. "What's incredible is that at the time I was 22 and Bill was 26. Everyone else was in college."

Description

"The Brookshire Inn was a special place during a special time," recalled Pat Snuffer. "We've all grown and changed over the years, but the enthusiasm that helped make the Brookshire a success is still an integral part of our lives. We learned that if you're not having fun, you're doing something wrong."

Company Rating

115 FB users likes Brookshire Inn - Lubbock, Texas, set it to 21 position in Likes Rating for Lubbock, Texas in Organization category

Summary

Brookshire Inn - Lubbock, Texas is Lubbock based place and this enity listed in Steakhouse category. Located at 2009 Broadway TX 79401. Contact phone number of Brookshire Inn - Lubbock, Texas: (303) 918-6425