Thread: What old business do you remember in OKC?

Originally Posted by Larry OKC

Were Stax what replaced the Circle Ks when they left the market
for a while and then returned?

I don't know. But I know U-Totem was one of my favorite
convenience stores in the 70's.

Originally Posted by BlackmoreRulz

The El Charrito thread got my memory going....there was a Mexican
food place on N may, somewhere south of NW 36 I think. I wanna
say that the name of it was "Taco Boy" but that doesn't seem right
either, anyone know/remember where I am talking about?

I believe, am not certain, it was a Sanchez restaurant.

I do remember Taco Boy but not a location.

Think (you're) right about Stax and Circle K.

LOL I had forgotten about U-Totem.

Originally Posted by Prunepicker

I believe, am not certain, it was a Sanchez restaurant.

Yes, it was an El Rancho Sanchez. I lived South so most of the time we went to the one on South Western, but once in a while I went to the one on May for lunch when I was working.
C. T.

Originally Posted by boscorama

I do remember Taco Boy but not a location.

Boscorama,
There were Taco Boy fast food taco joints all over. I thought they were better than the others, but they lost out to Taco Bell.
C. T.

Remember Christopher's ?
The continental was a cinerama surround, saw Stagecoach there, it was filmed with 3 cameras and had a fuzzy line between each one where it slightly overlapped! Lol
Best diner in America was The Patio, every politician and celebrity who came to town had to eat there. Never ate out on the " patio", would have missed all the fun!
Magnolia Thunder*****'s Plant Palace across from Baptist hospital!
Disco 36
The Cellar downtown! Or Kips Big Boy downtown!QUOTE=Prunepicker;252155]Sam Stone is correct! He was the DJ.
Ahhhh wish I could go back!!! Lol

I'm almost certain that the Westwood and Continental had cinerama screens.
The Continental was just west of the Founders Tower on N.W. Expressway.
There was one in Tulsa, to.

I might answer the other questions tomorrow.[/QUOTE]

Originally Posted by Garyd

I'm almost certain that the Westwood and Continental had cinerama screens.

Garyd,
I don't know about anything permanent, but early films at the Continental were in the "Todd-AO" format, a Cinerama competitor started by movie producer Michael Todd. See below from Wikipedia.
C. T.

"1953: Todd-AO formed as a joint venture of Mike Todd and the American Optical Company for the purpose of developing and distributing a large film format presentation system incorporating a wide, curved screen with multi-channel sound."

Originally Posted by Garyd

Remember Christopher's ?
Best diner in America was The Patio, every politician and celebrity
who came to town had to eat there. Never ate out on the " patio",
would have missed all the fun!

No doubt. Vernon Eccles was a class act. Was it Dolores who
came up with the Caesar Burger? It was the best.

I think The Patio was the place I was trying to think of where I had the best omelet I ever ate. I went there on the recommendation of a guy who I worked with whose mom was one of the cooks.

Originally Posted by Prunepicker

No doubt. Vernon Eccles was a class act. Was it Dolores who
came up with the Caesar Burger? It was the best.

The caesar salad at The Patio was fantastic

The Continental theater was very nice. Among first-runs I saw there were Alices's Restaurant and One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest.

A twin of the Continental is here in Denver (I-25 & Hampden), we drive by it everyday coming home from work. They have painted all tan and added other screens around it so it hides the unique exterior that it shared with the OKC building. You can still see a hint of it from I-25 but I remember when it was still a standalone.

A friend and I always wanted to redevelop it into a live performance venue but we always had more dreams than money, especially 20+ years ago.

There was a Continental Theater in Tulsa, too. It was on the Skelly
Highway.

The "Schnitzel" was my favorite meal at the Patio. An open faced burger topped with chili, onions, cheese, baked beans and an egg cooked the way you liked it. And of course, a side of French fries. I make it here about once a month and the only difference is, I add chopped jalapenos.
C. T.

Originally Posted by bluedogok

A twin of the Continental is here in Denver (I-25 & Hampden), we drive by it everyday coming home from work. They have painted all tan and added other screens around it so it hides the unique exterior that it shared with the OKC building. You can still see a hint of it from I-25 but I remember when it was still a standalone.

A friend and I always wanted to redevelop it into a live performance venue but we always had more dreams than money, especially 20+ years ago.

I remember that very theater too! From back about the time it opened. I think we saw "Stagecoach" or "How The West Was Won" (or maybe both of them, but not at the same time) at that venue. As impressive as it all was, I also still remember those two, blurry, vertical lines where the three projections of the film intersected. (picky, picky =). I'm pretty sure that this is where we also went to see "2001: A Space Oddys.....?".

When I moved to the OKC area, I was also impressed by the fact there was a "Cinerama" style theater here, but it seemed as if there weren't any "Cinerama" films being shown. That was about the time that I saw The Exorcist down at the Centre Theater. Even during its decline, the Centre (Center?) Theater was a Movie Palace. I really like how they chased the bats from the belfrey and fixed it back up into something even more enjoyable than a movie theater.

Originally Posted by ctchandler

The "Schnitzel" was my favorite meal at the Patio. An open faced burger topped with chili, onions, cheese, baked beans and an egg cooked the way you liked it. And of course, a side of French fries. I make it here about once a month and the only difference is, I add chopped jalapenos.
C. T.

Just imagine if Guy Fieri (Food Network, "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives") had been around back then. This sounds like exactly the sort of Culinary Art that he is in search of. =) "Hey, 'Cookie' . . . Whadda we have in the Cooler/Pantry? Okay . . . Throw all of it at the plate for this Guy." Seriously . . . Except for the inauthentic use of the term "Schnitzel" it sounds quite filling. And probably for a very fair price, too!

Speaking of "Schnitzel" . . . One of the top five meals I've enjoyed in my entire life was at "The Keller In The Kastle." It was so good that I wrote a two-page "review" of the experience. (Fortunately, "Ingrid's Kitchen" (perfect), "The Royal Bavarian" (very good) and that (slightly over-priced) place out on 29th and Choctaw Road are still around. And all of them are "Old Businesses. =)

Originally Posted by RadicalModerate

Speaking of "Schnitzel" . . . One of the top five meals I've enjoyed in my entire life was at "The Keller In The Kastle." It was so good that I wrote a two-page "review" of the experience. (Fortunately, "Ingrid's Kitchen" (perfect), "The Royal Bavarian" (very good) and that (slightly over-priced) place out on 29th and Choctaw Road are still around. And all of them are "Old Businesses. =)

RadicalModerate,
My only complaint about The Keller was that every meal came with red cabbage and I'm not a fan. They would hold it, but not substitute. Ingrid's, very nice, and I love Old Germany (29th). I did have a problem at The Royal Bavarian, but it happens sometimes. Their food was very good.
C.

Originally Posted by RadicalModerate

Except for the inauthentic use of the term "Schnitzel" it sounds quite filling. And probably for a very fair price, too!

RadicalModerate,
I meant to mention, It was listed as "The Schnitzel" on the menu and not as a type of schnitzel, so as a proper name, it was valid, calling it schnitzel would have been inappropriate.
C. T.

Originally Posted by Larry OKC

Were Stax what replaced the Circle Ks when they left the market for a while and then returned???

Yes. I remember being rather peeved that our classic Circle K's with all of their mainstays were going, only to be replaced by a rather generic concept touted as a "new grocery store". Three-quarter sized shopping carts, aisle signs, and a rather insipid produce section completed the attempted illusion, as well as radio spots for this new enterprise. Eventually the idea of that seemed to be abandoned like a Dalmatian after a sequel, and they lingered on until many of them seemed to have been bought out by Conoco franchisees, most of the type where you nowadays find "100% No Ethanol Gas".

A rumor was whispered in this ignorant, urban legend-rife, pre-millenial period that these signs, stylized as STAX/STAX/STAX in a column, were the Mark Of The Beast, which was explained as "Stax" being the Greek word for "six"....(it's NOT, in case you were wondering).

hadn't heard that one...

I forgot all about STAX.

I remember most of the ones you mentioned. Do you remember the El Patio Restaurant at 417 sw 5th? My grandmother founded, owned, operated it.

Originally Posted by kikkwik

I remember most of the ones you mentioned. Do you remember the El Patio
Restaurant at 417 sw 5th? My grandmother founded, owned, operated it.

I do! I thought it was part of the El Charrito chain.

So cool to learn a wonderful part of culinary history in OKC!

Does anyone remember a car wash shaped like a whale on or around NW 50th and Meridian??

Or am I just crazy??