Luby's to try out new look

Houstonist was driving out 290 the other day and noticed a new Luby's under construction — it normally wouldn't attract our attention, but we could tell this Luby's was going to look different. And now we know why: According to the Chronicle, the new restaurant is the first of Luby's next-generation locations, designed to bring the venerable cafeteria chain into the 21st century. Outside, the new Luby's will be faced in stucco and limestone; inside, there'll be an open kitchen, counter seating and an "ambiance evoking the Texas Hill Country" (even though it's nowhere near the Hill Country — but whatever). Another change: When you walk into the new Luby's, you won't go into a serving area separated from the dining room. Instead, you'll walk through the dining room to get to the serving line. Seriously, we don't know if we can handle this.

The new-look Luby's is another step by Chris and Harris Pappas, who have been leading the company since 2001, to get the once-struggling chain back on its feet. Luby's began turning a profit in 2004 after a few years in the red, but the company's restaurants are showing their age: The average age of the 127 Luby's locations is 19 years, and many of them still basically look like they did when we were kids. But if you think the basic cafeteria concept is behind the times, you're wrong, restaurant industry observer Mark Hanna told the Chron: "In reality, the entire restaurant industry is moving toward Luby's, in the sense that it is embracing a similar 'fast-casual model' in which there is no wait service," he said.

Customers at the Waugh Drive Luby's had a mixed reaction to a description of the new concept: "It's a good idea," customer David Schadler said. "It wouldn't be as confined. It would be more open and pleasant." But Lacinda Homfeld said the new model won't matter because "you still have to wait in line." Which is, we thought, the whole point, but whatever. And then there's 8-year-old Emily Wasserman, who apparently would eat at Luby's even if the food was served off the floor — she loves cafeterias. "That's one of the things I hate about summer," she said. "I miss my school cafeteria food." The new Luby's, located on Highway 290 near Spring-Cypress, will open in August.