The Story of Cosby’s Catfish Restaurant
When Ron and Sue Cosby built Cosby’s Catfish Restaurant, they had no idea that the path of life would eventually lead them back to the quaint log cabin they began so long ago…
Ron and Sue Cosby opened Cosby’s Catfish Restaurant on Thursday, April 21, 1988. Sue, spent her days as a stay at home mom raising their three (3) children: Wanda, Donna, and Ron Co
sby Jr. The Cosby’s had spent the majority of their lives in the restaurant business before Ron decided to become a preacher. Once their children were grown, and Ron had preached for seventeen (17) years, they decided to make a change that would allow Ron to do mission work and hold meetings for small congregations while having an income, So, they sold everything they owned and since Sue’s parents had lived in the Grand Lake area for years, they decided this would be their new adventure…
Friends of theirs, Rudolph and Enid McGehee, who had McGee’s Catfish Restaurant in Marietta, Oklahoma, supported Ron and Sue in this adventure. If it were not for Rudolph and Enid they would not have been able to be so successful for the first fifteen (15) years they owned the restaurant. In December of 2003 Ron and Sue decided to sell the restaurant and move to Liberal, Kansas where Ron would be preaching full-time. A short time before they decided to sell the restaurant, their daughter Wanda had opened up her own business in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and could not leave her commitments there to manage the restaurant. Therefore, the restaurant was sold. In October of 2015 Wanda Cosby Renken could not shake the feeling of wanting to go back to where her parent’s story began so long ago. Wanda contacted a local realtor to gather information to see who owned the restaurant and/or if it was up for sale. Although the realtor was helpful, they never could connect with the owners. So one day, Wanda and her daughter Casey took a road trip to visit the quaint log cabin. They pulled in the gravel parking lot and were overwhelmed with tears and admiration. Although the building had aged, and the parking lot was empty, they still got the sense of being “home.” After a few moments of joyful tears, Wanda and Casey were pulling away when Casey noticed a banner crumbled below what was now the “Mulberry’s” sign. The sign stated “For Sell by Owner” with a telephone number. Wanda contacted that number the next day, and here we are today. On Thursday, April 21, 2016, twenty eight (28) years to the day Ron and Sue opened Cosby’s Catfish Restaurant, their daughter Wanda, along with Ron and Sue, are back serving the same farm raised catfish they did before. It is funny how life takes us down certain paths … but one thing is always for certain … this quaint log cabin is definitely home to us, and we are so delighted you are here!
