Blast into the past: 818 Diner is flashback of Alva’s history

ALVA—A nostalgic diner on the west side of Alva is feeding more than stomachs, it’s feeding hearts and souls too.

Not far from the main campus of Northwestern Oklahoma State University on U.S. 64 is 818 Diner. Walking in the door, patrons immediately get a blast into the past with the black-and-white checkered flooring, vintage booths and tables, and walls covered in old photos, newspaper clippings, and school memorabilia.

818 Diner owner Terri Parsons and her husband, Don, moved to Alva in 1998 after years of working in the South for Garfield’s Restaurant & Pub, an Oklahoma-based family-style restaurant that primarily operated within malls throughout the nation from the mid-1980s into the mid-1990s.

She grew up in the Oklahoma City area and he in Woodward, so “we were ready to get back to Oklahoma,” Terri said. Since her grandparents were in the motel business and had built the Best Western in El Reno along I-40, they considered several locations across the state to land including Bartlesville, Guymon, and Arnett.

Ultimately, they settled in Alva since his folks were in nearby Woodward, and it wasn’t too far a drive to the OKC metro.

“We had a couple of kids,” Terri said, referring to sons Max, now 25, and Joe, 23, both of whom are Alva High School graduates and continue to live and work in Alva. Max has an accounting degree from Northwestern and Joe is a salesman at Windy Ford as well as an Alva city council member.

The Parsons bought Holiday Motel on the east edge of town in 1998. At the time, Terri said, she and Don had zero desire to go back into the restaurant business.

“We said never again,” she stated, but after the boys were almost grown, “we felt like Alva needed a diner.”

The commercial building at 818 Oklahoma Boulevard that houses 818 Diner was constructed in 1976 and was previously the site of Red’s Place, a steakhouse that served barbecue and breakfast from 2007 to 2016.

Terri said Red’s Place owner Jim Case had originally approached them when he was ready to retire, but they weren’t ready at that point, so it briefly was another diner before the Parsons bought it in 2019.

In the meantime, when they were ready, they had looked at other spots in Alva including downtown and further east on the highway, but none were the right space, Terri said. When the former Red’s Place went on the market again, they knew it was what they were looking for.

“This place had the bones, the equipment, and the checkered floors,” Terri said. In six weeks that summer they renovated it with the help of their sons, and “we opened six years ago as a family.”

Terri is the owner and operator, Don handles things behind the scenes, Max is the manager and the resident homemade ice cream maker, and Joe does all the diner’s social media. Another local, Carmen Flores, assists as manager alongside Max and is the pie maker.

When the Parsons purchased the building, the walls were bare, Terri said, but her youngest son was responsible for transforming the place.

“It was a Joe thing. He is a collector and loves to go to estate sales,” she said, adding he knew where to find the street signs, NWOSU’s Rangers and AHS’ Goldbugs memorabilia including pieces pertaining to the university’s original Castle on the Hill, old county fair items like rulers and calendars, and other assorted historical Alva artifacts. There’s even a tribute wall to Woods County military veterans.

The diner offers homestyle comfort food and is known for its hearty breakfasts, chicken strips, and desserts. The local family-owned meat market Whittet’s Country Store, now on its sixth generation, hand cuts and preps the beef used in 818 Diner’s famous country fried steak.

Terri said the original plan was to serve breakfast and lunch, because she hadn’t planned on working the night shift. The diner’s doors opened for business right before Alva’s annual three-day Big Cruise and Car Show.

“It took off right away,” Terri said. “I never dreamed how some people would come every day, even twice a day.”

Then the COVID pandemic hit six months later. The diner remained open for takeout, many people supported the diner by buying hundreds of dollars’ worth of gift certificates, she said, and when the scare faded, “people begged for us to open for dinner.” So, they did, serving supper three nights a week.

Nearly 30 employees—high school students, college students, and career adults—take orders, cook the meals, sweep the floors, wash the dishes, and man the register. The owners have been known to step in too as well as Don’s mom the late Merita Parsons.

Merita is the inspiration for the free Christmas meal that 818 Diner gives out every year.

After she passed in August 2021, her grandsons wanted to honor her memory, Terri said, and since “she loved to feed people,” they thought what better way than serve lunch to the community on Christmas Day.

“We felt there was a need,” Terri said, since many college students can’t afford to go home during the holidays and there are many senior citizens or shut-ins who have no one with whom to share Christmas Day.

That first Christmas without Merita, dozens of volunteers appeared at 818 Diner to dole out ham and turkey and all the fixings. This year will be the fifth annual Christmas Day community meal from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“Anyone is welcome and no reservations are needed,” Terri said. The free meals are available for dine in, carry out, or delivery to the shut-ins. Once meal service is over, all the leftovers are boxed up and carried over to the fire station and jail for all the emergency service and law enforcement individuals on duty.

“The community has been great to us,” Terri said.

818 Diner, 818 Oklahoma Boulevard (U.S. 64), Alva, is open daily except Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. The diner is also open for supper Wednesday through Friday from 5-8 p.m. Find out more at Facebook.com/818Diner. For to-go orders, call (580) 327-9500.