Lupie's Cafe

Choose Texas chili for the menu's hottest preparation, Cincinnati for cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice, or Southern style for a milder bowl. A vegetarian version uses ground vegetables and textured vegetable protein. Any of the four can become chili mac over spaghetti or mac and cheese, with pintos, cheese, onions and cornbread alongside.

Lupie Duran founded the cafe in 1987 after learning to cook while growing up at Thompson's Orphanage. In SouthPark magazine's 2024 visit, daughter Larkin described taking on day-to-day operations while her mother continued helping with desserts. The building has an earlier history of its own: civic leader Arthur Samuel Grier constructed it as a grocery store in 1938, and it later housed auto repair.

The weekly rhythm gives returning diners a reason to pick a particular day: meatloaf on Monday, chicken casserole on Tuesday and chicken and dumplings on Thursday. These moderately priced specials include two sides and bread. Banana pudding and peach kuchen provide two different finishes, but plan for a daytime visit; the current schedule ends service at four and keeps Sunday closed.