It was in 1976 that the first book inventory was offered for sale and what would later become McHuston Booksellers began as a retail book-selling enterprise. In the early days, the sales catalog was merely a collection of odds and ends sold alongside our inventory of rare US coins at a shopping center in McAlester, Oklahoma. By 2006, a retail, brick-and-mortar location was established in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. The internet as a sales venue had already been established previous to 2004 with books shipped from coast-to-coast and overseas.
South Seas Plantation Resort, Florida
Our restaurant résumé originally dates to a then-four-star resort called South Seas Plantation, on Captiva Island, near Fort Myers on the Florida Gulf Coast. Chef René Verdon had been employed by President John F. Kennedy, but his concoctions were a bit refined for the taste of Lyndon B. Johnson, who ascended the presidency with tastes more inclined to spareribs, beans, and barbecue sauce. Employment under the chef’s supervision as manager of the kitchen steward staff served as an introduction to quality food service presentation and fine dining expectations. A return to Oklahoma led to Restaurant 101 as a cook, chief bottle-washer, and – sometime later – restaurant ownership.
Paddy’s Irish Restaurant and Pub became a cultural tradition on Tulsa’s south-side, particularly on St. Patrick’s Day, when lines formed outside the 81st and Memorial location well into the evening. Those who managed a table inside enjoyed the luck o’ the Irish and traditional Irish fare that was augmented by green beer on that special occasion, and the restaurant was a destination location for corned beef, Irish Stew, and Guinness Stout.
The partnership behind Paddy’s dissolved in 2001, but the spirit of that Tulsa landmark was not lost.
Those of you who remember the occasional parade of bagpipers, the Celtic music, the Irish lilt, and the delicious culinary fare that was part of Paddy’s will have a chance for recollecting a version of the past with the re-opening of McHuston Booksellers and the addition of the Irish Bistro in the Rose District, at 122 S. Main in downtown Broken Arrow, OK.
Of course, it won’t be the same as it was. Times change. The bookstore customers will be surprised to see a menu. Those looking for Paddy’s won’t know what to do when confronted by a book.
Eat.
Read.
Live.
Do it all, traditionally, at 122 S. Main in Broken Arrow, OK.
This is an official, Irish-brogue delivered, honestly-imparted, invitation to join us.
-McHuston