Saturday Lunch at Sand Springs Station

My Meme (grandmother) and I finally stopped in at Sand Springs Station for lunch Saturday afternoon.

I say “finally” because we have driven by the corner at 28 E. Broadway together for years, spying on the restaurants that have filled the space and saying again and again, “We’ve gotta go eat there some Saturday, when we have time to sit back and enjoy it.”

Unlike the other inhabitants of this unique corner space, which was originally the Sand Springs trolley station, Sand Springs Station seems like it might hang around. Offering simple, café-gourmet breakfast, lunch and dinner menus, the restaurant always has at least a few cars parked outside. Meme said that on Saturday mornings all parking spaces adjacent to the corner are occupied – not a bad turnout for a bagel or pasty breakfast.

I’m pretty sure Sand Springs folks turn out at the Station just as much for the nostalgia of the space as for the cuisine. Lunching there with Meme, a Sand Springs native, was a special experience, since she had stories of how she and her grandmother used to catch the trolley just outside of where we were sitting. An entire wall of the restaurant is covered in old photos of the station.

For lunch, Meme ordered the bacon avocado sandwich ($5.50), while I opted for the fettucini alfredo with grilled chicken breast ($5.99 on the lunch menu, without the chicken). I’d order either dish when I make my second visit, which I aim to make soon. The service was prompt and friendly, and everyone who walked into the dining room seemed to know someone else inside, which I really love in a cafe.

I wonder if the Station is packed with high school kids on the weeknights, since it offers Topeca coffee, an array of coffee drinks, café-type sweets and free WiFi. If Sandites are going to Tulsa coffeeshops for study dates, they really are missing out on a chance to support a local gem and save gas money at the same time.

Sand Springs Station is open Monday-Thursday 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Lunch starts at 11 a.m., and dinner at 5 p.m. Anyone who can give me a review of either the pie or the dinner menu gets a bag of beans from Topeca, on me.