Started in S.A. 75 years ago, Luby’s keeps serving up memories
https://www.expressnews.com/lifestyle/ar...an-Antonio-75-years-ago-and-17323658.php
Rick Melendrez’s first meal at Luby’s was something of a religious experience.
It was a Sunday evening in 1967, and the then-13-year-old altar boy had just secured the chalice and washed the cruets after Mass at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in downtown San Antonio. As he headed out to catch his bus, Father Isidore Garcia invited him to grab some dinner around the block, so the two made the short trek to a cavernous basement cafeteria at 517 N. Presa St., the site of the first Luby’s.
There Melendrez discovered a paradise of piping hot comfort food, all served by smiling waitresses in angel white uniforms. He’d never seen such a beautiful bounty, and he could ask for anything — just like a grownup. So he savored every morsel, from that first forkful of a square fried fish with a mound of tartar sauce to that last bite of strawberry cheesecake Fr. Garcia treated him with for dessert.
Chances are every Texas child has had a similar tray-sliding rite of passage in the land of the LuAnn platter that has led to regular visits as a adult, whether an extended lunch break with coworkers, a payday dinner with family or a special occasion that calls for a little together time with a lot of down-home cooking.
In the 75 years since Bob Luby opened that first cafeteria in San Antonio at the corner of College and North Presa streets, the brand has become so beloved, its very name and signature dish became an integral part of the hit animated TV series “King of the Hill,” with its cafeteria chain called Luly’s and a main character named Luanne Platter.