Table Talk
Dennis and Melissa Patrick are hands-on owners, managing the café on site, seven days a week. Right: Clanton’s friendly wait staff serves up tasty dishes of homemade, wholesome meals. Photos by Gail Banzet-Ellis
I
Clanton’s Café A Little Class at By Gail Banzet-Ellis
n May, long-time northeast Oklahoma resident Dorothy Littrell chose to celebrate her 91st birthday with lunch at local Clanton’s Café in Vinita, Okla. Amid the friendly chatter of her two visiting nieces, Littrell enjoyed her favorite Clanton’s dish—the roast beef and green beans. “I’ve been coming here all my life, and I get this meal every time,” she says with a sweet smile. “The food is good, and I like the atmosphere—from the wait staff to the way they take your order.”
Since 1927, Clanton’s Café has welcomed thousands of hungry customers through its doors. The spunky rodeo cowgirl on her 91st birthday, the daily regular craving a classic cheeseburger, and the out-of-towner ordering calf fries for the fi rst time – each guest has a rich story to tell much like the café and its famous cream pie.
In the midst of the Dust Bowl days, local potato farmer Grant Clanton opened a small restaurant in Vinita called the “Busy B.” After preparing his menu every morning, he would stand out on the street corner and bang a pot, sounding the call that lunch was ready. Three Clanton generations later, the Busy B is Clanton’s Café, a historic Route 66 landmark that has been featured in just about every food magazine and television show across the country. With backgrounds in corporate travel planning and the restaurant business, husband and wife Dennis and Melissa Patrick took over the café in 1998. “We don’t even know how many travel guides and tourist blogs we’re in,” Melissa says laughing. “But we don’t even think of it that way. We’re all about customer service and keeping the business going.”
Melissa is the fourth generation of the Clanton family to own and manage the café. Every day of the week, she can be found in the kitchen cooking, taking orders from the wait staff and setting out hot plates of fresh, wholesome food made from scratch. None of the product is frozen, and meat from local producers in Tulsa is shipped in three times a week. The food speaks for itself, but exposure in national media such as Gourmet Magazine, Southern Living and a major cable network helps too.
“We were featured on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives fi ve or six years ago but every time they play us on the rerun cycle, we get a whole new wave of people in here,” Dennis says.
Chicken fried steak is the star menu item that put Clanton’s on the map. In 2012, the café cooked more than 45,000 chicken fried steaks, but it’s also known for its calf fries and several other diner gems including a wide selection of tasty pies.
When we took over, we went back to old recipes and ways of doing things, but Melissa is very creative in the kitchen,” Dennis says. “She likes to try new dishes with catering and the special parties and gourmet dinners we sometimes host.”
In a pressed-collared shirt adorning the Clanton’s Café logo, Dennis mills 26
WWW.OK-LIVING.COOP
around the busy café to greet a Saturday lunch crowd. Meanwhile, Melissa commands the kitchen. The operation runs like clockwork, and Dennis says this hands-on approach is why Clanton’s is such a success. “We’re not absentee owners. We’re here every day and make sure everything comes out right,” he says stopping at every table to chat with familiar faces and fi rst-time guests. “It makes people feel at home, makes them feel comfort- able. People want to experience this family atmosphere.” The café is alive with weekend conversation as Clanton’s hostess of almost 40 years seats customers. The wood-paneled walls are a museum of framed family photos and magazine stories, documenting Clanton’s history as it grew to become an international tourist stop in small Vinita, Okla. “Route 66 is such an American icon, and it’s amazing the number of people who visit here from foreign countries,” Dennis says. “It’s like a pilgrimage these days—families with kids are getting in the car and driving the route. It draws people here and generates huge revenue for the state.” About a year ago, Dennis and Melissa started keeping track of guests in a
Click to watch a video on Clanton’s chicken fried fix.
If viewing our digital edition, click here to catch a glimpse of the cozy atmosphere and savory dishes found at Clanton’s diner. Access our digital edition at www.
ok-living.coop or fi nd our FREE app at the Apple
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156