Kaphan’s Restaurant At 7900 South Main St.

[ssullivan]

What about restaurants?  My grandfather said that Kaphan's Restaurant and Sonny Look's were the nice places to go, but they're gone now.

Kaphan's on South Main at Kirby (where the CVS is now) was a big favorite of my family's. We had so many major celebrations of family events there, and my grandparents ate there almost every Sunday after church for decades. Not only was the food very good, but the service and staff were oustanding -- there were a number of waiters that had been there close to 50 years when the place finally closed down around 1993-1994. There was one waiter in particular that had been serving my grandparents, mother, and rest of the family for several decades, and he knew us all by name. I remember my last meal there in December 1992, when I was home for Christmas after my first semester of college. Mom and I had driven down to Houston on a Sunday morning to meet my grandparents for church and to celebrate my grandmother's birthday and deliver their Christmas presents. We had that particular waiter that day, and when he saw me he said "Master Steven! How was the first semester at Austin College?" I hadn't seen this guy in several months but he knew all about what I was up to from my grandparents. There was also a guy who worked there who wore a white suit (sort of a Marvin Zindler style) who always brought around a skillet of these hot crab ball appetizers. Those things were always so good. To this day many of my cousins talk about all those Sunday dinners we ate at Kaphan's and how the staff there always treated our family like royalty because my grandparents had eaten there so often for so many years. I still miss that place whenever I drive by the pharmacy that's there now. You just don't find restaurants with that kind of personal service much anymore.

[Highrise Tower]

From an add in the Southwestern Times magazine dated November 1944.

[JLWM8609]

That site will be home to a restaurant again, but it'll be fast food. The CVS was torn down and a Chick-Fil-A is now under construction. 

[Highrise Tower]

Found another historic add featured in the University of Houston The EXtra publication dated November 18, 1950. Looks like it was the grand opening of the restaurant, back in November 1950.

The add reads:  New Kaphan's Restaurant . . . . Famous For Fine Foods MA-5063, 7900 South Main.