The sign alone causes passers- by to do a double take. The familiar-looking green-and- white signage looms large when it’s nestled near a freeway.
Did that sign really say “Quaker Steak & Lube”? Naw, how could it? It’s Quaker State & Lube, right?
We were driving down the freeway in Buffalo, N.Y., when I spotted the sign.
“Quaker Steak & Lube? Really?” my husband said. “We’ve got to go there.”
We liked the gearhead-decorated sports bar so much, we bought the T-shirts. Now, the eatery is coming to a suburb near you. The first of four or five Quaker Steak & Lubes in the metro area will open around October at 10392 Reed St. in Westminster.
That sign will be a new landmark for drivers traveling on U.S. 36. Bob Bolan, one of the partners in the limited-liability company that acquired the franchise rights to Colorado, owns and operates four Quaker Steaks in Ohio, Virginia and Michigan.
“It’s the best location near retail and offices, and the area has good demographics,” Bolan said about the Westminster site. “There are 372,000 within a 5-mile radius. We just don’t have that in Ohio (where he lives).”
The chain was founded in 1974 by George “Jig” Warren III and Gary “Moe” Meszaros, who wanted to preserve the culture of old gas stations and muscle cars. Every Quaker Steak & Lube includes motorcycles hanging from the ceilings and vintage automobiles.
The bikes come from local dealerships and are available for purchase in the restaurant. The cars, however, are permanent fixtures.
“Denver, in general, is a terrific area to be in,” said Mes zaros. “We’ve been looking at it for a number of years and at a number of locations. Council Bluffs, Iowa, is currently as far west as we go.”
The extensive menu includes hamburgers, salads, ribs and chicken wings with 19 sauces. The Westminster eatery will have two full-service bars and patio seating. Bolan will hire roughly 200 people at each location.
“This place has a cult following in the Midwest,” he said. “You will see people come out of the woodwork to come to this.”
If you have a vintage car to sell, Bolan wants to hear from you: cantonlube@msn.com.
Beardies.
The prestigious James Beard Foundation Awards finalists for 2010 have been named, and Colorado has one chef, one wine specialist and three writers on the list.
Ryan Hardy, the chef at Montagna at the Little Nell in Aspen, is up for Best Chef: Southwest. Frasca Food & Wine in Boulder made the finalist list for Outstanding Wine Service.
The writers: Eugenia Bone, who writes a food blog for The Post, is nominated for the Single Subject award; Jason Sheehan, the former restaurant critic at Westword, is nominated for the Craig Claiborne Distinguished Restaurant Reviews; and Jared Jacang Maher, a Westword writer, is up for newspaper Feature Writing About Restaurants and/or Chefs.
The winners will be announced May 2-3 during events in New York City.
Eavesdropping
on a man: “The bad news is I’ve got a real ly bad boss. The good news is I’ve got a boss.”
Penny Parker’s column appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Listen to her on the Caplis & Silverman radio show between 4 and 5 p.m. Fridays on KHOW-AM (630). Call her at 303-954-5224 or e-mail pparker@denverpost.com.
