Kiowa restaurant takes customer input for tasty menu
Jun. 17—Ron and Kathy Nichols take customers' opinions into account in their menu full of comfort food.
The owners of Nichols Café, formerly known as the Brass Rose Café, at 814 S. Garfield in Kiowa said local customer Bill Hensley told them once that they should some pepper jack cheese and jalapeños to a burger. It turned out so great that they named it after him and added the Hensley Burger to the menu.
"And that happened to be right around the time we were remaking the menu and that is one of our top-selling burgers," Kathy said.
The restaurant also offers popular dishes such as chicken fried steak, steak fingers, and hamburgers along with breakfast until 11 a.m. Every Friday is all-you-can-eat catfish or shrimp for $10.99. Dine-in and carry-out are available to customers.
Both Ron and Kathy said the best part of owning the restaurant is the people — and they honor long-time customers who have died among dozens of pictures of family and regulars on a wall.
"They're family to me," Kathy said.
The couple said the wall is incomplete as they hope to add more.
"We have so many that are not on there that we truly love, but we're waiting for family to say 'OK, I'm ready to put them up there,'" Kathy said.
The Nichols and their café were featured in the McAlester News-Capital's second episode of "mmm...That's Tasty" — a video series that spotlights restaurants in southeast Oklahoma.
Videos can be found on the paper's website at www.mcalesternews.com and on the McAlester News-Capital's YouTube channel.
The "mmm...That's Tasty" podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Spreaker — and anyone can listen, subscribe, and follow for free.
Restaurants and other food and drink establishments can be nominated to be featured on "mmm...That's Tasty" by emailing editor@mcalesternews.com.
Kathy started working at the restaurant when it was known as Brass Rose Café and the couple eventually purchased the restaurant in 2001.
"I started working here back when it was Brass Rose and worked here three months and they convinced me that I knew what I was doing and I could do it," Kathy said.
"So she bought it," Ron said with a chuckle.
The Nicholses sold the business in in 2011 before they repurchased the café and changed the name to Nichols Café in 2016.
"But to us, it's always Brass Rose," Kathy said.
"We didn't know what we was doing, we just listened to the customers and listened to what they liked and what they wanted," Kathy said. "And that's what we went with."
The restaurant opens seven days a week at 7 a.m. with various times of closing. From Monday through Thursday, the restaurant is open until 8 p.m. and is open until 9 p.m. on Fridays. The café closes at 2 p.m. on weekends.
Contact Derrick James at djames@mcalesternews.com
