TulsaPets Magazine July 2022

10 TulsaPets • July / August 2022 PETS AND THEIR PEOPLE although his energy is mostly like this.…” Hughes gestures to a very relaxed Dugal, still lying under his corner table at Quee- nies. However, in classic Dugal fashion, at one point, he attempted to get up and fit himself into a chair. A Fresh Opportunity Long before Dugal came along to brighten up the patio at Queenies, the restaurant was already a big part of Hughes’ life. He fell into the restaurant industry after high school and has always loved cooking. He went back to Oklahoma State University– Tulsa to earn an M.B.A. at night, which meant he was suddenly seeking a day job. Someone suggested Queenies, so “I applied for a job as a busboy,” Hughes says. “So in the 1990s, that’s what I started do- ing. I did that for years, to the point when I was finally running it and doing all of the bookkeeping, and then I left for 20 years to work in design.” In 2019, Ruth Young, the owner of Queenies for almost four decades, was ready to retire. Hughes, who loved Queenies, was interested in a fresh opportunity. While the transfer of ownership occurred, Queenies also switched locations, a hundred yards over in Utica Square. The move gained the restaurant an attractive corner location with a larger patio, more windows, and a larger indoor space. “We felt this was the move to make,” Hughes says. Hughes is a working owner, so you will find him at the restaurant often — with a broad smile and a casual, friendly demean- or, a little like Dugal. “I enjoy making people happy … and we were honored to perpetuate a Tulsa tradition. So we decided, ‘Let’s just do that. And have fun with it.’ ” Comforting and Familiar Hughes learned a lot from Young. She taught him about finding a culinary identity, about cooking and baking, about perspective. Cooking doesn’t have to be sophisticated; it just needs a point of view. After all those years, returning to Queenies “is a cool homecoming for me,” Hughes says — a new perspective. For Hughes and for much of Tulsa, Queenies is “a familiar, welcoming home.” Everything on the menu is homemade, like your mom and grandma used to make. Queenies is “something comforting and familiar and whole and real,” Hughes says. The menu is unchanged, classic. In the new space, Hughes has added an espresso ma- chine serving Cirque Coffee and a bar menu with mimosas, wine, and beer. “There’s nothing mystifying about a sand- wich shop or cooking breakfast,” Hughes says. “But I like that it’s that easy.” Hughes muses about an occasional host shift, with Dugal as maître d’ on the patio. His bow tie would work well. “He likes peo- ple, people like him. Maybe one day, Dugal can host more often.” Until then, Dugal is always there, waiting for Hughes at the end of the day with “a wagging tail and a toy in his mouth.” Dugal is welcoming, familiar, and friendly — just like Queenies.