Long-awaited Limbaugh's Opens: Inside Blackwell's new eatery

Blackwell has a new restaurant on Doolin Avenue: the long-awaited Limbaugh’s, which hosted a soft opening last week for employees and community leaders before opening its doors to the public.

Limbaugh’s Great American Food & Spirits is the brainchild of Larry Limbaugh.

Limbaugh is the CEO and founder of Forward Hotels & Development, LLC, which oversees hotel development, ownership and professional management of various Hilton, Holiday Inn, Wyndham and Marriott Focus Service brands.

When Limbaugh’s company brought Blackwell’s Super 8 Motel into its hotel lineup during the summer, Limbaugh said he saw potential for the nearby Stack restaurant, which has sat next to the Super 8 since the 1990s.

“[Stack owner] Moe Habibi has been a longtime tenant, and we have been working closely with him, helping him to move and to close out the place. He chose not to extend his lease. It was amicable, very emotional, of course. There’s a lot of history there,” Limbaugh said in October when the restaurant was announced.

The Stack has reopened at 1423 S. Main St.

After Limbaugh’s official announcement during the Blackwell Area Chamber of Commerce’s golf tournament in September, he laid out his vision for the restaurant with one clear goal: being a central part of the community.

That 2022 dream included a relaxed-atmosphere bar, a come-and-go bakery, a station with ready-to-eat meals, a from-scratch restaurant that prioritizes farm-to-table ingredients, the possibility of a patio area and a seasonal charitable food drive.

Limbaugh’s dream finally came true. He smiled as he welcomed guests during the soft opening.

The restaurant’s breakfast menu includes French toast, Belgian waffles, homemade gravy, a sausage casserole, a country breakfast meal and a two-egg breakfast meal.

Alternatively, a breakfast buffet is also offered with eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, pancakes, waffles, toast, cereal and more.

For lunch and dinner, Limbaugh’s offers appetizers such as fried pickles, salsa, chips, and queso, fried okra and more. The restaurant has soups, including gumbo, homemade chili, cheese and French onion. It offers a salad bar, chicken salad, seven-layer salad, chef salad, chicken Caesar salad and a “cornbread salad.”

The “classic dinner entrees” include chicken and dumplings, lasagna, chicken pot pie, pork chops and meatloaf – all homemade.

Limbaugh’s burger and sandwich selection includes “Depression Pie,” the restaurant’s twist on a Shepherd’s pie; club sandwiches, beef tops, a home-style hamburger and a Philly cheese steak sandwich.

Seafood items include fried fish, grilled shrimp, grilled tilapia, fried shrimp, grilled salmon and shrimp and grits.

The restaurant also has an “open-flame grill.” Customers can order a 10 oz. sirloin steak or a 12 oz. ribeye.

Limbaugh’s hours are Sunday through Thursday from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The bar is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

Starting at 9 p.m., the bar will serve sliders, mozzarella sticks, southwest eggrolls, fried pickles, chips and salsa with queso, smothered French fries, homemade potato chips with ranch, quesadillas, nachos and boneless or bone-in wings.

The bar offers a variety of beers, both bottled and draft, as well as cocktails. Vortex Alley’s beers are offered through a special collaboration.

The restaurant performed so well last week that, after serving more than 300 guests, some menu items were unavailable.

The Limbaugh’s Team said in a statement:

“We simply wouldn’t serve anything less than perfect, and unfortunately, that caused shortages on Saturday. Our management team and owners stayed up until 3 a.m. both after Friday and Saturday to make changes and updates to shorten wait times, meal delivery, etc. Sunday brunch and dinner was a sampling of what’s to come and a testament to our team’s determination to ‘get it right!’ We are making updates ‘on the fly’ to our operating processes to deliver a product Blackwell can be proud of.”

The statement also thanked the community:

“Words simply cannot express our humble thanks for an incredible first weekend. The turnout far exceeded our wildest dreams or expectations. The Limbaugh family and our amazing team say ‘thank you.’ After months of meticulous planning to address each detail of the building, to hours poring over recipes and core menu items, [the effort] seems to have paid off, and we are happy to bring to Blackwell a new and exciting dining experience. ... This business is founded on our families [sic] recipes and core principles, and we have set the BAR very high, and we intend to reach and exceed our service delivery goals.”

The Limbaugh’s social media statement also thanked the team, food and beverage vendors and managers.

“Thank you Blackwell!” the statement concluded. “We love you and look forward to many more years of memorable friends, jaw-dropping food and fun times!”