OKC’s last cafeteria is closed

Wednesday was the last day for Luby’s in Oklahoma City.

Luby’s employees confirmed the store’s last day would be Wednesday, shortly before the dinner rush.

With the restaurant’s closing, Oklahoma City is without an operating cafeteria for the first time in nearly a century. Anna Maude Smith opened the YWCA cafeteria in downtown Oklahoma City in 1919, and later her own place in 1928.

Oklahoma City once had more cafeterias per capita than any city in America, making it the national standard-bearer for cafeteria operation, earning the title Cafeteria Capital of the World.

The Oklahoma History Center estimates the city supported 37 independently owned cafeterias at the height of their popularity in the 1950s and 1960s.

While the Oklahoma City Luby’s is closing, the company will continue to operate other locations outside Oklahoma. The store’s area manager, Ken Warzecha, could not be reached Wednesday for comment.

The restaurant, 9410 N May in The Village, is owned by Luby’s Fuddruckers Restaurants LLC, according to the Oklahoma County Assessor’s office.