Houlihan's Old Place

[MarketStEl]

Since someone unknowingly triggered a nostalgia rush in a couple of expat Kansas Citians with his post on the Savoy Grill, I thought I'd ask about another local restaurant that became the template for a national trend: Houlihan's Old Place.

This was the name given to the first Houlihan's, at 4747 Pennsylvania on the Country Club Plaza. And for a good reason: it was "Houlihan's old place" -- the former location of the Tom Houlihan men's wear shop. The haberdasher had moved to a storefront on Nichols Road across from Halls to gain more space and better visibility.

The Gilbert/Robinson restaurant organization, owner of the Plaza III next door, smelled an opportunity. The company took out a lease on the space, moved in an old carved-wood bar from some pub somewhere in Ireland (I believe), installed dark wood and backlit stained glass all over the space, put down a wood floor and hung a sign behind the bar counting down the days to St. Patrick's Day. Houlihan's Old Place was a hit from the day it opened, and it led the company to spread the concept to other cities--minus the "Old Place" moniker, especially after W.R. Grace & Co. purchased Gilbert/Robinson.

But the concept did mutate over the years. Not too long after arriving in Philadelphia, I had dinner at the Houlihan's on Rittenhouse Square, and the pub was a much less prominent feature of the establishment. The color of the wood had gotten much lighter, and the lighting in general brighter. In addition, the walls were plastered with old metal ad and highway signs, including a Kansas state highway marker and a vintage-1960 Kansas City street sign (the ones with the hump in the middle, a white background and black lettering).

The food was decent enough--burgers, grilled chicken, fried or broiled fish and shrimp, all relatively modestly priced.

I haven't eaten at a Houlihan's in nearly two decades, though. The company converted the Rittenhouse Square location to a Devon Seafood Grill, a more upscale establishment. In the meantime, TGI Friday's, Ruby Tuesday's and the like have pretty much taken over in this area.

But I am curious: Is the original Houlihan's still in business? If it isn't, what's there now? And is today's Houlihan's changed much from the place I ate in on Rittenhouse Square? Is the food better, worse, or just different? Or is it the same?

And while I'm at it, what about Plaza III? Or, for that matter, the original Tom Houlihan's men's shop?

[Maison Rustique]

I actually shopped at Houlihan's before it was a resto--I worked down the street and lived nearby for a while. But then I did eat there, once it became the restaurant. I haven't been to the Plaza area for probably 3 years (unbelievable for me!) but I think that no, there is no more Houlihan's Men's Shop, and no Houlihan's Old Place Restaurant.

Is the Plaza still owned/managed by J.C. Nichols Co.? If so they must have a web site with a map that would show what is there and in which locations.

When I first graduated from high school I worked for Caldwell's Shoes. I worked in the offices above what was then the Muelbach's (sp?) grocery store. They had 3 or 4 stores on the Plaza and numerous other stores in the mid-west.

I'm burning dinner now or would go check on some of this. I can alwasy investigate next time I go back--Mom's harping at me...

[bbqboy]

Thanks for the review.  I remember when they used to advertise on television.

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"A new, different and exciting restaurant over [insert appropriate decade] years old."

In my callow youth, that number was 60. By the time I left for college, it was 70. Now it would be 100.

(Aside: Now I'll really date myself with this once well-known Kansas City advertising jingle: "Did your Chevrolet come from Ireland?")

Glad to see that some things never change--or change only slowly.

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http://www.chowhound.com/midwest/boards/mi...ages/11736.html

You guys might be interested in this thread from a while back.

My favorite places on the Plaza were Putch's Coffee House and C. Morris Watkins. I had the unfortunate experience of working for the Muhelbach's delivery Store, on 55th ST. for a short time in the '70's. Yikes! We delivered to all the dowagers in the Plaza high rises. That ended my career in the grocery biz.

I'll match that Ireland Chevrolet, and raise you a "You get the feelin' of honest dealin', when you see

Bill Neale". You just don't get cars with talking hoods these days.

[jgm]

I have to share a Houlihan's memory. In 1977, just out of college, I worked in a clothing store on the Plaza and would occasionally scrape together enough cash to eat at Houlihan's. The French onion soup was one of my favorites. In the fall, there was what we Midwesterners call a "gullywasher" rain; an enormous amount of water fell on KC that night, and the ensuing flood ultimately claimed somewhere around 30 lives. I remember an especially sad story about an entire family, including young children, being killed when the rising water swept their car from a bridge on the Plaza, and they were all drowned. The Alaskan Furs shop on the Plaza blew up (gas leak), and water did substantial damage to most, if not all, of the stores on the Plaza. It was heartbreaking.

One of my friends was waitressing in Houlihan's that night. We were all sitting around a few days later swapping flood stories. It was well known that crowds at Houlihan's on weekend nights could be on the rowdy side. But that was really brought home to me when my friend told me that Houlihan's diners continued to order dessert, even though the water was ankle-deep, and finally, when the water was nearly knee-deep, the waitstaff was physically pushing people out the front door, and telling them to go home.

[Maison Rustique]

bbqboy, thanks for that link! I just spent the last hour reading through it. What memories!!

[MarketStEl]

http://www.chowhound.com/midwest/boards/mi...ages/11736.html    

You guys might be interested in this thread from a while back.

Oh. My. God.

Such a nostalgia trip! I knew Kansas City, Kansas, had all the melting-pot ethnic groups, but I didn't realize how many of them it had. After that, the discussion seemed heavy on the JoCo/southwest KC stuff--what, nobody hung out at O.G.'s?

(O.G.'s, on 31st Street just west of Indiana, was Ollie Gates' first establishment, run separately from his dad's Gates' Ol' Kentuck' Bar-B-Q at 12th and Brooklyn. It was a combination 'que joint and lounge--my mom would often stop there after buying records at Soul City Records at the corner of 31st and Indiana.)

My favorite places on the Plaza were Putch's Coffee House and C. Morris Watkins. I had the unfortunate experience of working for the Muhelbach's delivery Store, on 55th ST.  for a short time in the '70's. Yikes! We delivered to all the dowagers in the Plaza high rises. That ended my career in the grocery biz.

Despite what I said above, I also remember a lot of the places discussed in that thread over on Chowhound and the two you mention above. I'd take the 39th Street crosstown bus every Saturday to my bowling league on the Country Club Plaza and often eat at Woolworth's next door or at Watkins Drugs. I also remember all those cafeterias--Putsch's on the Plaza, the Forum and Myron Green downtown. (Myron Green also ran the lunchroom at Pembroke-Country Day, where I attended school from 7th to 12th grade. And on my way from KC to Cambridge, Mass., to attend college, my traveling companion and I had lunch at a Forum Cafeteria on East 9th Street in downtown Cleveland.)

The Wishbone. Stephenson's Apple Farm. Sydney's Drive-In. The Gold Buffet. Winstead's. Smaks. I remember that someone once wrote that in Kansas City, the best dining out took place in other people's houses. Well, maybe for those used to the French standard (and while we're talking French, what about La Bonne Auberge in Antioch Center north of the river?), that might be true, but the city certainly didn't lack for decent places to eat even in the 1960s and 1970s. (I left KC in '76, and have been back only twice since then.)

I'll match that Ireland Chevrolet, and raise you a "You get the feelin' of honest dealin', when you see

Bill Neale". You just don't get cars with talking hoods these days.

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Oh, Gawd, the talking cars! I'm afraid that trumps Bill Ireland, or the genie with the Schneider Ford.

Edited February 28, 2005 by MarketStEl (log)

[Maison Rustique]

"There's no buffet like the Gold Buffet, well known from coast to coast the Gold Buffet!!"

Edited to add: Forgot to say that my first "real" job was at the Forum Cafeteria in Antioch Center. I was 16.

Edited February 28, 2005 by Maison Rustique (log)

[Zeemanb]

Nostalgia........overload...........can't get Gold Buffet song out of my head now.......

Didn't they have entertainment there? I remember the commercials from when I was a kid, and there was a comedy duo "Williams and Ree" (or something similar) always mentioned.

Wasn't there a Putch's at Metcalf South? My grandmother would take us there (and The Forum Cafeteria at Indian Springs) quite a bit.

Seems that Pitch did a write-up on the closing of the original Houlihan's last year. I've only ever visited the one by Oak Park Mall, and I'm not sure of the status of that location. Speaking of Pitch.com, go take a look at their food column from last week for a trip down memory lane. They review The Bamboo Hut, and mention places like the Savoy, E.B.T, etc.

Thomas Cafeteria, Joe's Barn, Mac's Little Banquet, Taco Kid, Peter's Drive-In, Pitco's.......I could sit here and reminisce about my childhood all day, but I'm late for a sale at Stix, Baer & Fuller (followed by some sub-par pizza at Straw Hat and a sundae from Swensen's)!!

Jerry

[MarketStEl]

"There's no buffet like the Gold Buffet, well known from coast to coast the Gold Buffet!!"

Edited to add: Forgot to say that my first "real" job was at the Forum Cafeteria in Antioch Center. I was 16.

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"When you're really looking...for honest homestyle cooking...dine at the fabulous Forum!"

Did that dislodge that pesky Gold Buffet jingle?

[MarketStEl]

Seems that Pitch did a write-up on the closing of the original Houlihan's last year.  I've only ever visited the one by Oak Park Mall, and I'm not sure of the status of that location.  Speaking of Pitch.com, go take a look at their food column from last week for a trip down memory lane.  They review The Bamboo Hut, and mention places like the Savoy, E.B.T, etc.

And La Mediteranee! Which, I see, is no longer (like, I presume, the House of Toy).

We did a spoof photo shoot for our high school newspaper in La Mediteranee my senior year. Believe it or not, that was the only time I'd been inside the place.

Thomas Cafeteria, Joe's Barn, Mac's Little Banquet, Taco Kid, Peter's Drive-In, Pitco's.......I could sit here and reminisce about my childhood all day, but I'm late for a sale at Stix, Baer & Fuller (followed by some sub-par pizza at Straw Hat and a sundae from Swensen's)!!

Jerry

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Stix?

Interlopers from St. Louis, they were. (Though they did fill a hole left by the closing of Emery, Bird, Thayer.)

Now it's all Dillard's. Which is why the news that Federated is buying May is good from where I sit--we may yet see the return of Macy's to Kansas City (though it would probably be at the cost of the Jones Store's disappearance).

Not, mind you, that it matters all that much in my day-to-day life now, just as long as they don't muck around even more with Strawbridge's.

[stachichach]

Houlihan's is alive and well. However, they are no longer on the Plaza, the mean spirited J.Nichol's group tried to up their lease by a large percent. So they packed up shop and opened one just up the street in Fairway. A couple years ago, they went through an interesting revitalization process, and you should see their stores now. In Kansas City, there are locations at the OP mall, Fairway, Leawood, in KC North Zona Rosa, and soon to be one in Lee's Summit. They have maintained the croud favorites from the past, but have introduced some really innovative and delicious food in the past 2 years. Be certain to check them out if you have not been for a while.

In Philly, Devon Seafood (formal site of Houlihan's) is alive and doing quite well. They also have introduced some new menu items and style in the past year, and with their location right on the Square I would go there any chance I could get.

Hope this helped. Check out their website at

www.houlihans.com

[Panosmex]

I want to toss a nostalgic memory into the mix: the China International Restaurant, on the basement level of the Metcalf South Shopping Center. It's where, in around 1970, that we first discovered northern Chinese and Szechwan (as it was then spelled) food. My first Hot and Sour Soup, Pot Stickers,Twice-cooked Pork, Ma Po Tofu. We were regulars there, and the owner sold us our first bamboo steamer.

[stachichach]

I just read the other day that the Metcalf South is closing down....dont mark that as a fact, but I'm pretty sure of it. I'm a newcomer here to KC...well sort of, almost 2 years, and have not been there.