'Something good is cooking in Langston' Eatery to offer local option to town's residents

By Ja'Rena Lunsford

Published: June 16, 2006

LANGSTON - Unless you are brewing it in your own kitchen, a hot cup of joe in the morning is hard to find in Langston.

But not for long.

Local entrepreneur Gary A. Williams is opening Papa George's Eatery on Saturday, a venture he hopes will turn the neighborhood into a community again.

The idea for Papa George's Eatery, named after Williams' grandfather, materialized about eight months ago when Williams was working at his dollar store and decided to grab a cup of coffee.

The coffee run was cut short when Williams remembered that he would have to drive to Guthrie for his morning wake-up juice.

"I said, 'That doesn't make any sense,' so I bought (a building)," said Williams, who opened IIIG Dollar in Langston last year.

The 1,500-square-foot restaurant may resemble a log cabin on the outside, but there is nothing rustic about the inside. A 42-inch plasma TV and speakers hanging in the corners of the dining area are ready to make the small-town eatery into sports grill. Along with game nights, Papa George's Eatery, 115 Sammy Davis Jr. Drive, will have live entertainment, poetry nights, college night, alumni night and other events to bring people -- in a town of less than 1,700 -- back together.

"This is a place for people to sit and talk to their neighbors," Williams said. He said the restaurant also will create nine jobs.

Sitting and talking, though, is not the only thing Williams hopes to see a lot of come Saturday. "Eatery" is not in the restaurant's name for nothing.

Papa George's will open at 7 a.m. throughout the week, serving up eggs, sausage, omelets, French toast, biscuits and gravy and other breakfast favorites. The menu also includes salads, sub sandwiches, pizzas, hot wings and chicken fried steak.

"The best thing about an eatery is that it provides a variety of food," General Manager Adrian Bennett said. "Our slogan is: 'Something good is cooking in Langston.'"

Williams said Papa George's Eatery, nestled on Langston's main street down the road from a restaurant with no regular hours and next door to an abandoned barbecue shop, literally will feed a need in the community.

"We'll be the only game in town," Williams said.

Williams is not the only one happy about grabbing a cup of coffee in Langston.

Felix Edoho, business professor at Langston University, said having a restaurant in the town means a lot to people who live and work there.

"We need this immensely," said Edoho, who makes the 11-mile trek to Guthrie when he wants a meal.

Williams said he's not finished developing businesses in the rural area. Although he will concentrate on the new restaurant, he has plans for a couple of other projects including a car wash.

"We live in a country where we can do whatever we want to do, and we live in an area where everything needs to be done," Williams said.