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By Sheldon Beach, librarian, Special Collections and Research
Does anyone out there remember days long, long before the pandemic when you could stand over a sneeze guard and pick out the food you wanted for lunch from a plethora of already made tasty delights just lined up for you? I don’t mean back in 2019, but way, way back in the days when Friday nights with the family, or after church meals often meant everybody gathering for Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes, or fried chicken and green beans, or any other assortment of food you wanted because someone else had already taken the time to have it ready and waiting for you to pick out when you walked in the building? I’m talking, of course, about the good old cafeteria.
Of course, any Oklahoma City foodie worth their salt and pepper probably already knows that before it was home to a number of innovative food trucks, vegan restaurants, and fancy brunches, Oklahoma City was once known as one of America’s cafeteria capitals. One of those cafeterias, of course, was Dodson’s Cafeteria in Capitol Hill.
A family affair, Dodson’s, owned by Joe and Charlotte Dodson, with the help of Joe’s family and a few employees, would serve anywhere from 800 to 1,000 people every day, and as many as 1,500 on the weekends. Lunch on weekdays was $0.65, and on weekends went up to $1.50. Everything was made from scratch, chicken was fried Southern style in an iron skillet, and they even made their own pie crusts.
A restaurant of firsts, Dodson’s opened on April 19, 1952. Not only was Dodson's one of the first cafeterias on the south side of Oklahoma City, but it was also the first restaurant in the Capitol Hill area to offer its customers air conditioning. A few years after the original Dodson’s opened, the family expanded to a second location in the first mall in south Oklahoma City, Redding Shopping Center, in 1956.
Dodson’s fed people from all over, as well as loyal locals who would come every day for years. When something happened on the south side, it was often planned in Dodson’s Cafeteria. And on some days, customers were entertained with live organ music played by Joe himself.
Dodson’s remained a staple of south Oklahoma City for many years. Their location at 2150 SW 59th Street closed in December of 2000 after serving the people of the south side of Oklahoma City for 48 years.
Dodson’s wasn’t the only cafeteria in the city. You might even remember some others like Boulevard Cafeteria. This city institution closed just a few short years ago in 2015 after a run of 67 years.
Want to learn more?
Listen to Charlotte Dodson, along with her son Charles, talk about her childhood in Cordell, Oklahoma and her life running Dodson's Cafeteria in the Capitol Hill area of Oklahoma City.