Posted by ffrailey (anonymous) on March 19, 2008 at 9:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I'm spending the night in your fine city week after next. Where's the hippest place to go for dinner? Nice atmosphere, friendly bartender, good menu - that kind of thing. Your advice appreciated.

Fred in Virginia

Posted by create (anonymous) on March 19, 2008 at 10:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Try Bruffs. It's a locally owned sports bar and very popular with a very good menu. It's located at 2640 West 18th Avenue, behind the Holiday Inn Express just off I-35. Take the Industrial Road Exit.

On that same exit, you can find an Appleby's. They have a nice bar too and decent food.

Posted by admireed (anonymous) on March 19, 2008 at 12:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Other side of intersection. North of Sutherlands amd Motel 6

Posted by esuhornets (anonymous) on March 19, 2008 at 1:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)

It's sad when the best place in town to eat is Bruff's. I would go to Grand Central Hotel in Cottonwood Falls.

Posted by create (anonymous) on March 19, 2008 at 2:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I agree, esuhornets, but I didn't know how far Fred would be willing to drive after getting to Emporia since he was just "spending the night." Besides, he said "hippest" so I was going for noise, activity, as well as food.

This thread is going to be fun. You started it, Fred.

Posted by ffrailey (anonymous) on March 19, 2008 at 4:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Yes, the thread is fun. Thanks for the advice so far. I'll be staying at the Holiday Inn, which speaks for Bruffs. But Cottonwood Falls isn't THAT far away. Maybe I should stay there!! What's the food like? Can a guy get a martini (or bring his own)? I'll see if the CFH has a web site.

Fred in Virginia

Posted by create (anonymous) on March 19, 2008 at 5:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Here you are, Fred, this is the web site for the Grand Central Hotel in Cottonwood Falls. There is also a map on the site to show you the way. Information about room rates is there too.

http://www.grandcentralhotel.com/

The Grand Central Hotel has been named the best restaurant in Kansas by American Cowboy Magazine.

It has received the Beef Backer Award as best beef restaurant in Kansas for 2001, 2005, and 2007.

It is the only Triple A, 4 diamond hotel and restaurant in Kansas. (There are no 5-diamond hotels/restaurants)

I think you're gonna enjoy this trip, Fred. I hope you let us know how you liked it.

Posted by create (anonymous) on March 19, 2008 at 5:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Oh, and by the way, Fred, Kansas is a beef producing state so you want to eat beef while you're here.

And yes, a guy can get a martini. You don't have to bring your own. We're open here. Kinda. :)

Posted by admireed (anonymous) on March 19, 2008 at 6:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)

GCH APP, BRFS...Other area rest. that would impress out-of-town guests?

Posted by create (anonymous) on March 19, 2008 at 7:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Yeah, I hope others chime in here. I'd like to know what other folks think about other area restaurants.

Posted by glarson (Gwen Larson) on March 20, 2008 at 6:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)

BTW, Fred. If you're staying in Emporia at the Holiday Inn Express, you'll be on the north side of I-35 and INdustrial Road. Bruffs is behind the OLD Holiday Inn, now the Guesthouse Inn, which is on the south end of the I-35 and Industrial Road exit. You won't have any trouble finding it, just want you to know that it wouldn't be a simple walk across the parking lot.

(Create: you're proving that us old-timers always identify places by what they USED to be! And, yes, I'm old enough to do the same thing! LOL)

Posted by create (anonymous) on March 20, 2008 at 9:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)

LOL, Gwen. Yes, you're right. Silly me. In my mind, I had a picture of Fred strolling across the parking lot to Bruffs, happy as a Virginian can get in flat Kansas. Admireed tried to correct me, but you Gwen, described it to a T. Well done, girl!!!

Sorry to cause you to wander around an intersection, Fred. I'm glad Bruff's has a big sign on I-35.

Posted by ffrailey (anonymous) on March 20, 2008 at 11:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Thanks again to all of you. Just reserved rooms for my buddy and I at the Grand Hotel in Cottonwood Falls, and I want to thank you folks for suggesting it. We'll spend the next four days driving beside the former Santa Fe Railway (now BNSF), from Emporia to Belen NM, near Albuquerque -- just watching trains. There's no better way to start a trip like that than staying in an historic hotel on the old Santa Fe Cottonwood Falls Branch.

Fred Frailey
McLean VA

Posted by create (anonymous) on March 20, 2008 at 2:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Fantastic news, Fred. Thanks to esuhornets for suggesting the Grand Hotel to begin with. Sounds like you two are going to have a really great trip. I hope you'll let us know how you enjoyed the hotel. Glad to help.

Another nice thing about this thread you started, Fred, is how enjoyable it was. We usually get bogged down in cynicism and squawking about everything on this forum. What a nice change of pace you presented.

Posted by bmlynar (Bobbi Mlynar) on March 20, 2008 at 3:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Fred, I'd like to talk to you about doing a story on your trip. If that will work for you, could you please give me a call at 620 342 4805?
Thanks,
Bobbi Mlynar, Gazette reporter

Posted by create (anonymous) on March 20, 2008 at 6:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Neat!!!

Posted by Renegade (anonymous) on March 22, 2008 at 9:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Good Job Everyone.!!!!!!!!!!!... :-)
Someone visiting Emporia asks for a good place to eat in Emporia.....and you all send them out of town.???? LOL (even gave them directions!!!!!)..

It's a good thing I didn't ask any of you the same information when I was passing through Emporia for the first time, a year and a half ago,....I might have been living in Cottonwood Falls today!

It's bad enough that Create did it, but GWEN????? from our local Newspaper??????
Bobbi at least invited them to do a "short" story for their trip..... It's going to be really short.... about the people in this beautiful little town in Kansas that directed them out of town for a nice hotel and place to eat.

Priceless!. :-) Maybe we should have a sign with all arrows pointing out of town for Food and Lodging!

Posted by Renegade (anonymous) on March 22, 2008 at 9:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Sorry, I was so amused by this forum that I didn't see they were passing through in a week and a half.
Now that we have given them the link to the web site, and directions to Cottonwood Falls, they won't even have to stop in Emporia....They can get fuel in Cottonwood Falls too. :-)

I am making light of this...and, being a little sarcastic. But, what are you thinking people?....
The only thing that would have made this funnier to me is if someone from our Chamber of Commerce had chimed in on here.

Posted by admireed (anonymous) on March 22, 2008 at 11:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)

CWF is part of the Emporia community just like Reading, Madison, Lebo ... etc.

Posted by Renegade (anonymous) on March 22, 2008 at 12:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Sorry admireed.(maybe you don't live in Emporia)....But, If I were an owner of a Restaurant, or Hotel/Motel, or any business in Emporia, I wouldn't appreciate the residents of Emporia telling visitors, to go 16 miles down the road to Cottonwood Falls, fo find a a nice place to stay, and, eat the best food.
Spending the night in a town invites them to shop, and look around, as well.

How do you know that someone that sends an E-Mail to us, inquirying about Emporia, isn't looking for a place to invest in property, start a business, or retire?
and.....
before you say anything.......
my husband and I visited Emporia for 2 nights, almost 18 months ago..(never been here before)...we were planning on retiring , and liked what we saw here.....so we went back to our home (out of State) and looked up Emporia on the internet, and went to the Realtors web pages, and found a home....we moved here 15 months ago!
We bought all new furniture here, and do all our business in Emporia....Why? Because we were made to feel welcome in Emporia, and no one sent us down the road.

By the way...we have visited Cottonwood Falls, Americus, Osage City, Reading, Madison, and all the other little communities, since we moved here......and if anyone wants to know about nice places to go to eat in those towns, I can tell you.......but, not if you ask me about Emporia.

I think I will change my name to .... LoyalEmporian...:-)

Posted by slipandslide (anonymous) on March 22, 2008 at 11:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)

there is a letter in the people speak section of the weekend gazette, a school girl is asking for information on kansans, she is doing a school report. Since there are some long time kansas on this forum, maybe there will be an interest in sending her some Kansas history ect? Fred might also find council grove interesting with its history and the historical motel/restaurant. if you know where to look inside the building there are still some burned rafters from when the place caught fire long time ago, i guess they left the charred embers for nastolic reasons.

Posted by Renegade (anonymous) on March 23, 2008 at 9:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)

hmmmm, and there's nothing in Emporia to direct people to??????? :-(

Now that I know how you all feel about our beautiful community, I guess I won't hesitate to tell my friends to check out Cottonwood Falls to buy their home for retirement....A nice laid back, little, tree lined community, and the absolutely breathtaking Courthouse at the end of the street... Don't forget the older mansions that have an even better price value on them for Sale than Emporia.
The fishing lake is close by too.
Also, if you don't like Cottonwood Falls, don't forget Olpe, and the GREAT Chicken House Restaurant. Rumors are it's a growing community.
Council Grove and the big lake and their restaurants, and old buildings....yep, go there too...

OR, if you are looking for a LOT of history, all you have to do is get on the Turn Pike and in about 40 minutes you are in Topeka....All the restaurants you want, shopping, and almost anything you are looking for.
No reason to stop in Emporia folks... nope, uh uh, never!...go on down the road......because, all the good food, and shopping, golf courses, and history, aren't here, it's all around us!
Oh, and you can probably get a good deal on some real estate in these other communities, as well. Make sure you shop around before you buy in Emporia...you might get a better deal!

There!..now I feel better. I know that slipandslide doesn't live in Emporia and I am not sure about admireed....
but, not one person from Emporia has posted on here that they agreed with me... on my previous posts.
I'm disappointed. I think so many of the Emporians are used to NOT telling people to come here, because of the
SMELL...but, that is GONE. Has anyone noticed the difference in our air quality lately?

Or aren't you all tired of all the negative **** that has been spewed about our beautiful little town the last year, with the Tyson and Refugee issues? (and, I am as guilty of that as anyone, but we got what we asked for.....sooooooo)?????

I know I have some friends from out of the State that are reading the Gazette, and thinking of moving back to Emporia for retirement, or coming here for the first time.
Maybe, we could try to encourage them to stay in Emporia for a while, when they come to Kansas.

Sorry to all the little communities around Emporia, but we want to grow so we can get the ammenities and shopping and other things that you would use, as well.(other than Wal Mart)...we need to ask people to stay in Emporia....(at least for a day...and look around!)

I'm done! :-) Happy Easter Everyone!

Posted by create (anonymous) on March 23, 2008 at 10:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)

One of Emporia's positive features is its central location in Eastern Kansas. In fact, many people list that as a reason for living here because we can easily get to larger cities like Kansas City, Topeka or Wichita while still enjoying our own small-town atmosphere here at home -- where we pay property taxes. What's wrong with that?

One of the things I like about living here in Emporia is that I can make day trips in any number of directions and still be home by bedtime. That's a positive feature of living here because I love the surrounding countryside -- and that's a lot to say for someone who comes from Hawaii. When both good knees still allowed me to ride my motorcycle, I spent hours and hours riding all over Eastern Kansas where I found a number of great restaurants and stopping places. What's wrong with that?

While I first suggested Bruffs to Fred, I later agreed with esuhornets about the Grand Central Hotel because everything about the area suggested a quaint visit there would be just the ticket. It seems now that Fred was looking for just such an experience so I'm glad to have directed him there. Why shouldn't I be a good neighbor to Chase County? What's wrong with that?

Another place I would have directed Fred was to the Hays House in quaint, historic Council Grove, but I didn't think he wanted to drive that far north. Getting there is half the pleasure too because it's a beautiful drive, especially at this time of year when the pastures are greening up and it's not quite so flat. I don't mind directing anyone to Emporia's gorgeous surrounding countryside. What's wrong with that?

Quaint is not Emporia's demographic. I don't know of any restaurant in Emporia that can be construed as quaint. ESU's Skylight Room has great food, but Fred wanted "the hippest place to go" and a place to get a martini. Sounds like Cottonwood Falls is it. What's wrong with that?

Yes, as an Emporian interested in her economic development, I should be directing people to local establishments, but I'm not going to lie about it just to make people stay here for a buck or two. What's wrong with that?

And while I'm at it, I resent any aspersions being cast against Olpe. I taught for twenty one years in that little town, and I have nothing but positive things to say about that community and its people who gave me some of the best years of my life.

I thought this thread was such a positive thing and even Bobbi's story was a great idea. I still think that. But unfortunately, now it has become a tempest in a teapot.

Sorry you had to witness this small storm, Fred. I still think your trip and your stay in Cottonwood Falls will be wonderful and certainly memorable. You go guy!

Posted by Renegade (anonymous) on March 23, 2008 at 12:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I'm sorry, as well, that you had to witness this "small storm" Fred. It wasn't my intention.
Create, if standing up for Emporia, makes me a "tempest in a teapot" then, so be it.

I won't debate you Create...but, I do NOT feel that I am "lying about Emporia, just to make a buck or two".... nor, was I casting any aspersions against Olpe...or any other community around Emporia. I AM offended by that.

Other than that, your point is well taken, and your words eloquent,...about the beauty of Kansas, and the small towns around us.

I just don't agree with your total assessment of Emporia, Create...
I guess it's nice that we can get up in the morning and go to Topeka, Kansas City, or Wichita, or almost anywhere, to shop or stop to eat, and be home in time to go to bed. The arrows all seem to point "out of town" though.....
Create...that was my point....

I feel no guilt defending myself, because I love this little town...I think it's beautiful, and has lovely people.(and I came from California and Colorado). I have no problem shopping here, or going out to eat here, or recommending anyone that visits Emporia to do the same.....
IF, however, when they are "leaving" Emporia, they inquire where to go next, and what other places are nice to visit, of course I would tell them everything you described about Kansas.
I just wouldn't direct them out of town, before they even got here. :-)

Posted by wyse_guy (anonymous) on March 23, 2008 at 10:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Geesh, I bet Fred is glad he inquired about information in Emporia. It's beginning to sound like Romper Room in here. Who knows Fred might have still planned a visit to Emporia AFTER he had a nice meal and martini. He could be on a business trip, country cruise of the flinthills, or just passing through. If you notice he never asked about lodging ;) so maybe his intentions was to eat and pass on through ... There are alot of great bed and breakfast places he might enjoy if he planned on needing a place to stay in or around Emporia.

Posted by wyse_guy (anonymous) on March 23, 2008 at 11:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I think so many of the Emporians are used to NOT telling people to come here, because of the
SMELL...but, that is GONE. Has anyone noticed the difference in our air quality lately?

Gone.... along with over 1,800 jobs ... Next you will be complaining about the stench from all of the critters moving in to feast of the remaining scent left behind. I have heard there are already dead rats laying around the parking lots! If you need a part-time job maybe you could apply for groundskeeper!

Posted by Renegade (anonymous) on March 24, 2008 at 8:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)

wyse_guy... Well, if it didn't sound like Romper Room before, it does now...and I openly apologize to Fred, or anyone I've offended...and hope Fred has a wonderful trip through Kansas. It is a beautiful State.

If my post was offensive, Wyse_Guy, you just added an exclamation point to it .

I guess defending Emporia is considered negative now....
I am leaving for Topeka this morning...shopping, and lunch....and, my husband and I have a special occasion this week...maybe we'll head to Kansas City for dinner, and spend the night.

The only thing that stinks about Emporia, as far as I am concerned, is the attitude of some of the people.
I am sick to death of listening to everyone complain about what Emporia doesn't have.....you are starting to convince me that I may have made a huge mistake moving here.

Done as Renegade!...might change my name to used2luvemporia.....:-)

Posted by glarson (Gwen Larson) on March 24, 2008 at 3:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Renegade,

I'm thrilled that you love Emporia, put please read more carefully before accusing other posters. These are the directions I posted:

"BTW, Fred. If you're staying in Emporia at the Holiday Inn Express, you'll be on the north side of I-35 and INdustrial Road. Bruffs is behind the OLD Holiday Inn, now the Guesthouse Inn, which is on the south end of the I-35 and Industrial Road exit. You won't have any trouble finding it, just want you to know that it wouldn't be a simple walk across the parking lot."

These are accurate directions to Bruffs, which is well within Emporia's city limits.

I never once gave this person directions to Cottonwood Falls or anywhere else outside Emporia.

Gwen Larson
Managing Editor

Posted by Renegade (anonymous) on March 24, 2008 at 3:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Gwen, I apologize to you, Create, Fred, and anyone else that I posted to on here. If I offended you, it wasn't intentional and I shouldn't have singled you out. I will read more carefully, and refrain from making future comments.

honestly, my original post was more of a tease than anything else.
However, I have lost my sense of humor, and I am not as enchanted with Emporia as I was a year ago, and before I got involved with the Gazette.

Maybe the problem with Emporia is not the Image, and we should take a look at the attitude of some of her citizens.

This whole thing is stupid. My husband and I chose Emporia to invest our Senior Years and Retirement here. We should have spent more time visiting before buying our home, and settling in. I'm not investing anything else...nor, encouraging anyone else to move here.
I'm beginning to understand some of the attitude though.

Posted by lildarling (anonymous) on March 24, 2008 at 8:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Renegade,

Emporia is a lovely town filled with wonderful caring people.

I, like you, care dearly about what happens in this community.

Where we differ, in this sense, is that I also care about the small communities surrounding Emporia. There isn't much that would draw a traveler to Cottonwood Falls, so why not throw a little good press their way?

I can tell you one thing for certain, if I went to a newspaper's website to get feedback as Fred did, and read some of the things posted here, I would have tried to avoid this area all together.

In addition, I didn't see Renegade give any suggestions, which was Fred's original request. Had I seen this sooner, I would have suggested La Hacienda, Casa Ramos, or Wheat State Grille.

Posted by boomer46 (anonymous) on March 24, 2008 at 9:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)

lildarling,

I live in Emporia, have read the posts, and I would like to avoid this area all together. Do you really think La Hacienda, Casa Ramos, or Wheat State Grille are "hip" places that Fred from Virginia requested? Or, would these food establishments even know how to make a martini that Fred was asking about? How sad, how very sad! This whole town is sad!

Posted by create (anonymous) on March 25, 2008 at 8:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)

A post script to Slipandslide:

Thanks for the reminder on that little girl in Washington who requested information on Kansas. Choosing the landscape, I sent her a picture of pasture burning with an explanation of that practice. LOL, I assured her that no cows are injured during the burning of pastures.

I hope Fred decides to contact Bobbi for a story in the Gazette. I think his idea to shadow the train lines is so interesting. I have always loved seeing trains pass when I was driving along a nearby highway. You go, Fred!