02/28/2019
Short History of Brookshire Inns of Lubbock, TX
(This was done right before the 2007 reunion)
In May, 1969, Bill and Gena Brooks (along with the help of Wayne Bergeron) 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
