Dinner
Stockyards City Steakhouse Dinner
Sit-down dinner in the historic 1910 dining room — the kind of place where ranchers, oilmen, and tourists have shared the same booths for over a century.
- Duration:
- 1.5 hr
Haunted Dining / Bar
Cattlemen's Steakhouse
Oklahoma City's oldest continuously operating restaurant (since 1910), famed for a 1945 dice-game ownership change and cold spots reported by staff in the historic Stockyards City dining room.
1309 S Agnew Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73108
Wheelchair Accessible
Research-Backed · 4sources
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Mid-to-upper steakhouse pricing; entrees roughly $25-60. Lamb fries and ribeye are signature items.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Ground-floor dining, mostly accessible.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1910 · Oklahoma City's oldest continuously operating restaurant · Anchor of the Stockyards City historic district · Famous 1945 Christmas Eve craps-game ownership change (Hank Frey to Gene Wade) · Wade family ownership 1945-1990; Dick Stubbs ownership since 1990
Cattlemen's Steakhouse opened in 1910 to serve cowboys, ranchers, and stockyard workers in the rapidly growing Stockyards City district on the south side of Oklahoma City. By the 1920s and 30s it had become a daily fixture for the cattle trade, with auctioneers, drovers, and oilmen sharing booths around the same plain wooden tables.
The restaurant's most repeated origin story dates to Christmas Eve 1945, when then-owner Hank Frey lost Cattlemen's in a craps game at the Biltmore Hotel to Gene Wade. Wade and his father took over the operation, renovated the building, and for a stretch ran the steakhouse 24 hours a day to feed the stockyards' constant traffic. The Wade family ran Cattlemen's for nearly half a century before selling the business to Dick Stubbs in 1990; Stubbs remains the current owner.
The building has been continuously occupied since 1910, with its long counter, wooden booths, and ranch-themed murals largely intact. It is widely recognized as Oklahoma City's oldest restaurant and has been featured on the Food Network and in tourism guides for Stockyards City. Wikipedia notes simply that 'some believe that the building is haunted.'
Cattlemen's has remained a working steakhouse — serving signature items including lamb fries, ribeyes, and T-bones — and a cultural touchstone for the cattle industry that built Stockyards City.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattlemen%27s_Steakhouse
- https://cattlemensrestaurant.com/
- https://www.travelok.com/listings/view.profile/id.1155
- https://www.okgazette.com/arts-culture/haunted-oklahoma-city-book-takes-readers-on-a-tour-through-paranormal-history-2980217/
Persistent cold spots throughout the dining roomAtmosphere noted by staff over decades
In their book 'Haunted Oklahoma City,' Oklahoma authors Jeff Provine and Tanya McCoy document cold spots reported at Cattlemen's Steakhouse, alongside other paranormal accounts collected across the city, as covered by the Oklahoma Gazette in its review of the book. The cold-spot phenomenon is the central paranormal claim associated with the restaurant — staff and longtime patrons have for years described localized drops in temperature in particular booths and corners of the dining room, even when the restaurant's HVAC is running steadily.
The Wikipedia entry for Cattlemen's Steakhouse notes that 'some believe that the building is haunted,' though it does not name specific entities. Local lore tends to anchor the hauntings to the building's century-plus of stockyard-era traffic — cowboys, meat packers, and oilmen who lived hard and gambled hard, including the 1945 Christmas Eve craps game that decided the restaurant's ownership. No specific apparitions, deaths, or named historical figures are publicly tied to the haunting in available sources.
Media Appearances
- Jeff Provine & Tanya McCoy, 'Haunted Oklahoma City' (Arcadia Publishing)
- Oklahoma Gazette coverage of Provine/McCoy book
Plan Your Visit
1 way to experienceSources & Further Reading
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Cattlemen's Steakhouse family-friendly?
Family-friendly working steakhouse; the haunted angle is subtle (cold spots, staff lore) rather than spooky-themed. Overall family fit: High.
How much does it cost to visit Cattlemen's Steakhouse?
Mid-to-upper steakhouse pricing; entrees roughly $25-60. Lamb fries and ribeye are signature items.
Do I need to book in advance?
No advance booking is required, but checking availability is recommended.
Is Cattlemen's Steakhouse wheelchair accessible?
Yes, Cattlemen's Steakhouse is wheelchair accessible. Terrain: Ground-floor dining, mostly accessible..