Celebrity Restaurant To Temporarily Close, Citing Staffing Issues

Celebrity Restaurant in Tulsa said it is temporarily closing after nearly 60 years in business, saying it does not have enough workers to stay open.  

Celebrity Restaurant has been at the intersection of 31st and Yale since 1963 and the owner said even though they are closing for now, they still plan to have a presence in Tulsa. 

One of his final days in the kitchen has Tyler Bird reminiscing about the last five years cooking at Celebrity.  

"I'm gonna miss it. It makes me wanna cry. It makes me wanna cry,” Bird said.  

He has decided to make a career move to the construction business to work in an industry he believes will give him more job security.  

Three Sirens Restaurant Group Owner and Operator Johnna Hayes said Bird is not alone in deciding to leave. Right now she has no bartenders or hosts, just Bird, three servers and a salad maker.  

"A lot of people just kind of left the industry. They'd been here 15-20 years. That's a long time to give yourself to an industry and then have it shut down on you,” she said.  

This Saturday, July 17, will mark the last evening for the restaurant, which hopes to reopen for the holiday season.  

"This isn't permanent,” Hayes said. “This is just for right now." 

Suzie Black was at the restaurant Tuesday for a private event.  

"I love it because it's a landmark of Tulsa and it's kind of still old school,” Black said.  

She and the ladies she lunched with enjoyed a Celebrity staple: the Caesar salad. Hayes said people can still get a taste of it while the restaurant is closed.  

"We're not gonna let it just not be relevant. We're gonna start bottling our Caesar dressing and selling it,” she said. 

Celebrity first opened as a private club and Hayes said it was the first place in Oklahoma to obtain a liquor license.   

“So if anything else - we will always drink here,” Hayes said.  

While Celebrity is closed the restaurant said it still plans to do private events and team up with a brewery in town for events, too.