Luby's Cafeterias

Luby's Cafeterias, Inc. is the largest chain of cafeterias in America. From one small cafeteria in 1947 located in downtown San Antonio, Luby's has steadily expanded, first in Texas and then in other southern states, to become the most profitable cafeteria chain in the United States with over 200 cafeterias. In 1996, the company operated 147 units in Texas; 12 in Arizona; ten in Tennessee; nine in Oklahoma; five in Florida; four each in Arkansas, Kansas, and New Mexico; three in Missouri; two in Louisiana; and one in Mississippi. Unlike many restaurant chains, Luby's does not franchise its units, but it does compensate each unit manager with a generous portion of the profits from the unit the manager runs.

With its motto of "Good food from good people," the Luby's cafeterias offer freshly-prepared, family-style food at reasonable prices served in attractive settings. The cafeterias cater primarily to shoppers and to store and office personnel at lunchtime, and to families for the dinner meal. The cafeterias do not serve breakfast. The individual units are generally 10,000 to 11,000 square feet in area, can typically accommodate up to 300 people and are located in shopping and business developments as well as in residential areas. Luby's cafeterias are part of the social fabric and a tradition in many parts of the southern United States, "In San Antonio, they say you have to beat the Baptists out of church on Sunday to get a seat at Luby's," Forbes magazine writer William P. Barrett