Probably by now you have heard about the fire in Weleetka last Friday that destroyed a city block, including three businesses, one of which was the renowned Roundup restaurant, technically the K&G Roundup Restaurant.
According to a Tulsa World story, one of the firefighters thought the cause might have been electrical. It's pure coincidence, I'm sure, but the day I went to Weleetka to do a story on the Roundup on a cold, rainy day a couple of years ago, the electricity had been off for about six hours, presumably caused by the recent storm.
The electricity was restored just in time for the friendly staff to cook some food, including one of its famous, mammoth chicken-fried steaks, and to complete our interview.
It is probably too early to know yet if the owners have any hope of relocating in another space downtown -- I mean, would it be any good anywhere else? -- but we only can hope it does.
It had an amazing menu for a small, aging diner, or for any diner for that matter. It wasn't all chicken-fried steak. The Roundup had a yummy hot fudge cake, shrimp, steaks, smoked ribs and brisket, small loaves of baked bread, grilled chicken, sandwiches, soups, salads, burgers and a whole page of Mexican dishes.
Only a few weeks ago, in our Ask A Local feature in the Spot, Tulsa restaurateur Robert Merrifield listed the Roundup as one of his favorite places to dine if he is taking a motorcycle trip in that direction.
We will keep our fingers crossed that the Roundup rises from the ashes.
