Savoy Restaurant Celebrates 90 Years In Tulsa

Did you know the average restaurant only lasts five years, and most close within the first year? That makes Tulsa's Savoy Restaurant truly exceptional.

The Savoy at 61st and Sheridan is about to celebrate a sweet 90 years. 

That's a pan of Savoy Restaurant cinnamon rolls. They're kind of famous. On a busy day they may bake 20 pans of them, that's 300 cinnamon rolls.

"I would say a million and a half is a conservative amount," said Bill Kelamis - of the number of cinnamon rolls he thinks he's made at the Savoy.

Bill and his son Evan are the third and fourth generation to operate this family owned restaurant. Of course, there is much more to this than cinnamon rolls, but they are so good.

Evan Kelamis: "1924 or '25, we're calling it 1925  - Nick started his first restaurant."

Nick operated in several locations, all named the Kelamis Cafe. Then in 1954 Tom Kelamis - Evan's grandfather - went to a sign ship to order a new sign.

"The store owner had a sign that was unclaimed by someone who had ordered it," Evan said.

Said give you a good deal, so that day the  Kelamis Cafe became the Savoy Restaurant. After all food's more important than the name - which brings us back to those cinnamon rolls.

Actually, the menu.

Evan is particularly proud of the fact that a hundred items on the breakfast and lunch menu are made from scratch. They bake their own bread and hamburger buns.

"Grind our own hamburger meat, make our own chicken fry, make our own pancakes, make our own syrup," Bill said.

And cinnamon rolls - said they were famous. Even the "o" in Savoy is a cinnamon roll. Let's eat.

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