Looking Around the Latest Version of the Cleburne Cafeteria Replacement

Latest promised opening date for the new beer-and-wine serving, credit-card accepting (cash still preferred, and please pay before eating) Cleburne Cafeteria, now appearing in the late stages of construction at the corner of Bissonnet and Edloe St.: sometime this month. Photos from the scene show a new sidewalk, accompanied by 8 new trees from Trees for Houston, making an appearance along the Bissonnet frontage, in place of what used to be a portion of the restaurant’s parking area.

***

The latest 11,000-sq.-ft. replacement for the twice-burned restaurant at the northern border of West U will still have 100 parking places, though, to the east and west sides of the building. Plus: valet service. Among the changes expected in Cleburne Cafeteria 3.0 (or 4.0, if you’re counting the original location on Cleburne at Fannin): a meat case where customers can select steaks before they’re cooked to order, outdoor eating areas, a refrigerated butcher “shop” for kitchen staff, and a private dining room. In all, there’s room for about 300 diners.

Photos: Swamplot inbox

Opening in November

8 Comment

  • Their hundreds of Facebook comments are all so over-the-top gushing, it’s kinda creepy. I wonder what Cleburne puts in the food?

  • It’s good food but kinda pricey for what it is. I usually prefer the Luby’s on Post Oak at San Felipe, one of their better locations, as the more reasonable choice for cafeteria food.

  • They’ve done a beautiful job with the new construction. So glad to finally see a sidewalk here where there never was one before, and the landscaping looks great too. The first photo was taken from my bus stop so I have been watching the progress of this every day, and it has been fun seeing the improvements.

    Another new addition is a bigscreen TV on the patio; last week I saw some of the construction workers watching the Astros game on it, so even that is working already! Hopefully the city can get permitting in place for it to open by Thanksgiving, because it looks almost done. They even have paintings on the walls again! Now how many of those are originals saved from the fire and how many are reproductions I don’t know.

    Let’s just hope that the Upper Kirby District can continue their project of burying the power lines on Bissonnet so the utility poles can come down before they impede the growth of those new trees.

  • Those are cypress trees … the poles and wires are far enough away that they aren’t going to be an issue… ever

  • Way overpriced- gotta pay for the 2nd or 3rd rebuild !!!

  • Cleburne overpriced? No way. I think those sort of comments may come from folks who never actually dined there. I read one comment some place else from somebody who was at Cleburne on “Saturday”. Saturday? Nope. Cleburne is my go-to place. I was eating there at least once a week and that for 5-10 years or so. Back in the old days (pre-Pappas) Luby’s served good food but with not near the number of items Cleburne serves. But again – Cleburne is not even close to being pricey.