Officials with Luby's Inc. recently announced their plans to liquidate the property and assets to satisfy debts and distribute the rest to investors. Mimi Swartz is an executive editor of Texas Monthly, and is originally from San Antonio. She recently wrote an article for the magazine entitled “Luby's, Luann Platters and Me.”
Swartz's work has appeared in Vanity Fair, Esquire, Slate, National Geographic in The New York Times op-ed page and Sunday magazine, among many other places.
TPR’s Jerry Clayton talked with Swartz about the article, childhood memories and Luby’s legacy.
Jerry Clayton: Your piece in Texas Monthly is such a beautiful, fond farewell to a restaurant that you apparently really loved. Can you tell us about your first memories of eating at Luby's?
Mimi Swartz: My first memories were when I was a kid growing up in Terrell Hills and our neighbors were Luby’s fans, and so they would take me. Mostly I came to love Luby's when my husband and I had a child and it was just a great place to go with a kid. I don't think there was any more kid-friendly restaurant.
Clayton: What do you think it is about Luby's that sets it apart from other restaurants?
Swartz: Well, I wouldn't say the food. I really liked the food, but my closest friend is a restaurant critic. And you know, I think there are better places to get gourmet meals, but if it's just like home cooking, it's great. And then somehow everyone was so friendly and they were extremely helpful. Not in the way of fancy service, but just like everybody. If you came in with a baby, they'd bring you a high chair. And if you came in frequently, they knew you and your baby. So everybody was sort of glad to see everybody else. And I think there was just a real family atmosphere. And, you know, and depending on which one you went to, it was just they were friendly and simple in a way that a lot of places aren't.
Clayton: You mentioned your friend, the food critic, and also in the Texas Monthly article, which was very amusing. You were talking about how you tried to convince her to go to Luby's. Could you recount that story?
Swartz: Well, this is a friend who has, you know, a five-star palate, and she's not really picky. I mean, she's been to the finest restaurants in the world. But she also loves a good burger. So she's not snobby. But somehow I could never convince her. I would tell her, you need to come. You need to try Luby's...you'll really like it. And she gave me a look that that was the last time I tried to convince her. It's not for everyone, but I also just thought it was so egalitarian. I mean, there was a place….We were there on election night in 2016. And, you know, we were sitting with all different kinds of people. And there was sort of a, I don't know, there was a unity that you don't find us much today and places, you know, hopefully something else will crop up to take its place that's as welcoming.
Clayton: Do you think it's possible that the loss of Luby's may be hitting people a lot harder, considering that everyone is looking for comfort right now?
Swartz: Yes, I think people right now. Probably want as much familiarity as they can get and as much comfort as they can get given the chance to go to Luby's. A lot of people would probably want to go back right now.
Jerry Clayton can be reached at Jerry@tpr.org or on Twitter at @JerryClayton.
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