Luby's facts for kids
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Trade name
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Luby's |
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Formerly
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| Private | |
| Industry | Casual dining restaurant |
| Fate | Acquired by Calvin Gin |
| Founded | 1947 (as Luby's Cafeterias, Inc.) San Antonio, Texas, U.S. |
| Founder | Robert M. "Bob" Luby |
| Headquarters | Houston, Texas, U.S. |
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Key people
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| Products | Homestyle food, cafeteria, American |
| Revenue |  US$323.47 million (2019) |
 −US$15.226 million (2019) |
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| Owner | Calvin Gin |
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Number of employees
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6133 (2019) |
| Parent | Flying Food Group |
| Subsidiaries | Koo Koo Roo (defunct) Cheeseburger in Paradise (defunct) Fuddruckers (2011–2020) |
Luby's Restaurant Corporation is a famous chain of cafeteria-style restaurants found in Texas. A cafeteria is a type of restaurant where you pick up your food from a serving line instead of having a waiter bring it to your table. In the past, Luby's also owned other restaurant chains like Fuddruckers, Koo Koo Roo, and Cheeseburger in Paradise.
As of April 2024, Luby's runs 38 restaurants across Texas. The company's main office is in the Near Northwest area of Houston, Texas. The very first Luby's restaurant opened in 1947 in San Antonio, Texas. It was started by a man named Robert Luby.
Luby's also has a special service called Luby's Culinary Services. This part of the company manages food services for places like hospitals, colleges, and other businesses. They have worked with Texas Children's Hospital and Lone Star College, for example.
Contents
The Story of Luby's Restaurants
The story of Luby's began with Robert "Bob" Luby. His father, Harry, opened his own cafeteria way back in 1911. Bob learned a lot about the restaurant business from his family. After college, he worked in cafeterias in different cities like San Francisco and Corpus Christi.
In 1947, Bob Luby opened his very first Luby's Cafeteria. He wanted to serve fresh food and make sure customers were happy. His idea was a big success! Soon, Luby's restaurants started opening in other Texas cities, including Tyler, Harlingen, El Paso, and Beaumont.
Growing Across the States
In 1959, the original partners of Luby's formed a new company called Cafeterias, Inc. Luby's kept growing and opened restaurants in other states near Texas. For example, they opened their first restaurant in Houston in 1965. They also expanded into New Mexico in 1966 and Oklahoma in 1980.
By 1973, Cafeterias, Inc., became a publicly traded company. This means that people could buy shares of the company on the stock market. To honor Bob Luby, the company changed its name to Luby's Cafeterias, Inc., in 1981. Just one year later, Luby's shares were listed on the New York Stock Exchange, which is a very important stock market. By 1987, there were 100 Luby's locations! In 1996, the company had over 200 restaurants in 11 different states.
Changes and New Ideas
In 2001, Chris and Harris Pappas joined the Luby's management team. The Pappas family owns other popular restaurants in Houston. Three years later, Luby's moved its main office from San Antonio to Houston. With the Pappas team, some Luby's restaurants started to change. They became a mix of cafeteria-style and more fancy dining.
In 2006, Luby's celebrated its 60th birthday! They even published a cookbook called Luby’s Recipes & Memories. It had many favorite dishes and heartwarming stories from customers.
Around 2009, during a tough economic time, Luby's had to close 25 stores and reduce staff to save money. But they also tried new things. In 2010, Luby's Culinary Services opened a coffee shop called "What's Brewing?" in downtown Houston. That same year, Luby's bought the restaurant chains Fuddruckers and Koo Koo Roo. Later, in 2013, Luby's also bought Cheeseburger in Paradise.
By 2015, there were 93 Luby's restaurants, but this number went down to 78 by 2019. Experts said that the rise of "fast casual" restaurants, which are quicker than traditional dining but nicer than fast food, might have affected Luby's business.
During the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns, Luby's, Inc. had to make some difficult choices. They temporarily sent home more than half of their office staff and cut the pay of other employees. The company also received a special loan to help them during this time.
Selling Parts of the Company
On June 3, 2020, the leaders of Luby's decided to sell all of their restaurants and other properties. This decision was partly because of the challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. The money from these sales would go to the people who owned shares in Luby's.
Later, on September 8, 2020, Luby's announced a plan to completely sell off all its existing assets. This meant they would not continue operating as they had been. By September 11, 2020, there were still 80 Luby's and Fuddruckers restaurants open. In November 2020, almost all of Luby's stockholders (people who own shares of the company) voted to close down the company in its current form.
On June 21, 2021, a person named Calvin Gin, who started Flying Food Group, agreed to buy 32 Luby's locations. This deal was worth $28.7 million. This happened just a week after another person, Nicholas Perkins, agreed to buy the Fuddruckers brand from Luby's for $18.5 million. Before Calvin Gin's purchase, Luby's had planned to close all its restaurants by August 2021.
Luby's Main Office
In July 2004, Luby's announced that it would move its main office from San Antonio to Houston. This was because Pappas Restaurants, which was now helping manage Luby's, had its headquarters in Houston. About 80 jobs moved to Houston with the company. Today, Luby's headquarters is located in a building on Northwest Freeway in the Near Northwest district of Houston.
