Eskimo Joe’s

For over three decades now, Eskimo Joe’s has been a favorite restaurant amongst OSU students and a huge attraction for Stillwater. It’s a widely recognized location, even by two former Presidents, George H. W.  Bush and George W. Bush,  who both endorsed Joe’s cheese fries during their presidencies. The restaurant’s two mascots, Joe and Buffy, can often be also found at Oklahoma State sporting events where they take pictures with fans and throw shirts to the crowds.

Eskimo Joe’s first opened as a bar in 1975. Back then the drinking age was still 18 years old, so most college students were able to get in, but when the legal drinking age changed in the 80’s, so did Eskimo Joe’s setup. Joe’s became a proper restaurant to accommodate for potential losses, and as a result became what we all now know and love. The glass dome roof was added in 1992, this roof is able to open up on nice days and its addition greatly increased the number of occupants. Joe’s has always been very adaptable for its customers and the students, which is one of the main qualities that’s kept it alive and thriving.

The restaurant’s founders were two Oklahoma State alumni, Stan Clark and Steve File, who spontaneously came up with the idea to open a bar in a for rent building they knew of south of campus. The two quickly got to work on their idea, they had a premise, a building, but now they needed a face for the bar. Clark and File commissioned Bill Thompson to draw their logo. Bill was only a freshman when he drew the famous logo that can still be seen on advertisements and t-shirts all over. Eskimo Joe’s opened as a bar on July 21, 1975. When it opened, the bar sold beer and 72 different t-shirts.

When Joe’s opened as a restaurant, their food items were simple, but have managed to remain iconic through the years. The cheese fries have gotten the most attention, having been mentioned by former President George H. W. Bush in a 1990 speech. Former President George W. Bush also endorsed the cheese fries in 2006. Over the years the restaurant has also been mentioned by more than one late night talk show, Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert respectively.

The store and its merchandise are as famous as the restaurant itself. Bill Thompson’s logo can be seen on shirts worn all over the country, and most of those t-shirts were sold here in Stillwater. When you go to Joe’s, you’re given a souvenir cup that you get to take home, more cups are also available in the shop. During the month of July, in celebration of Eskimo Joe’s anniversary, special shirts and souvenir cups are sold with designs to correlate with the yearly celebration. During the holiday season, smaller Eskimo Joe’s venues open up in select malls and shopping centers across the state, and at these small venues they sell Joe’s merchandise.

In 2011 the larger store was added onto the restaurant, greatly expanding the building’s size. With this add on they were able to sell more merchandise, as well as hold more people in the building. Anyone who’s gone to Joe’s later in the football season or during the basketball seasons has likely been thankful they can wait in the large gift shop rather than out in the cold. When describing the restaurant in her college years, LaDonna Bornemann, a 1987 OSU graduate, said, “Try imagining it was ⅓ of the size of the bar and restaurant as it is now.” This goes to show just how much the restaurant has changed over the years, but also how it’s still the same iconic place it’s always been.

Most students who are attending Oklahoma State or alumni who’ve attended in the past can say that they’ve gone to Joe’s. LaDonna Bornemann, “went to Eskimo Joe’s probably once a week” and she said, “It was a good time with friends, day or night. Good food and just a neat, fun atmosphere.” Joe’s was described by LaDonna as, “pretty popular when I was in College, which was in the Fall of 1983 through Spring 1987.” LaDonna was five months away from her twenty-first birthday when the legal drinking age was changed, but she remembers celebrating her twenty-first at Eskimo Joe’s.

Eskimo Joe’s is located on Elm Avenue, otherwise known as the strip. The strip is home to many bars and restaurants. It’s located just south of the OSU campus, making it a big attraction for students. Its convenient location for students has also helped the business thrive. Being in the middle of the strip has put Joe’s in the thick of the action over the years which has allowed the restaurant and store to spread outside of their original location.

Over the years, Eskimo Joe’s has expanded into different restaurants. These other locations are all in Stillwater and have different cultural themes for their food. Mexico Joe’s is perhaps the most famous of these variations. The Mexico Joe’s mascot is similar to his original counterpart, but he dawns a sombrero and a poncho, and is accompanied by his donkey, Bucky. Joseppi’s was an Italian restaurant, and together Eskimo Joe’s, Mexico Joe’s, and Joseppi’s were known as the “Three Amigos”. Joseppi’s would go on to close in 2014, and was succeeded by the short lived Mojo’s.

In 1985 there was a party held to celebrate the restaurant’s tenth anniversary, but this party ended up being so big that thousands of people were flooding the street. From there on, every year on July 21 there’s a party in honor of Eskimo Joe’s founding. Their popular merchandise often gets an anniversary theme around this time as well, feeding into the hype. As previously mentioned, the crowd has gotten as large as in the thousands, with some people coming from far and wide to attend the yearly celebration. It’s of course during the Summer months, so it’s not the hugest event for students, but it is a staple of the restaurant nonetheless.

Just as Pistol Pete represents OSU at sporting events, Joe and Buffy also come to support the teams and promote their restaurant. They often hang out near the student section and home locker room, throwing out t-shirts during select timeouts. Sometimes rather than throwing the t-shirts out, they bring out a revolving cannon that can shoot the shirts into higher sections. Their presence is a reminder of how closely tied they are to OSU. Joe and Buffy come to every home game, so they’re hard to miss. During football games, the pair can usually be found standing near the Northwest corner of the field. So students, be on the lookout, as a t-shirt might come your way!

Eskimo Joe’s is a staple of Stillwater and Oklahoma State. It’s the site of many good memories for many people and many more people to come. Over the years it has changed quite a bit, but it’s maintained its iconic status by being a friendly business and by having an active part in its community. What once started as a sudden idea between two friends has become something much bigger and it shows no signs of slowing down.