While out taking pictures for an upcoming blog post, I passed the Casa Ole on Murphy Road and saw only a single car in the parking lot. I thought that maybe it was just an extremely slow day, and gave them a call to see if they were open. I didn’t get an answer, so I decided to turn back around and snap some photos.
The neon sign is now turned off, the sky wasn’t very overcast but had tall clouds which blocked out the sun and muted the colors of the building. The address of this location was 12203 Murphy Rd, Stafford, TX 77477
The sign facing Murphy Road gives notice of the closing, however the thick bundle of cable and telephone wiring block the view of the sign to Northbound motorists.
Moving back from the sign to face the corner of the building, you can see the fountain was removed at some point. I’m not sure when the last time I stopped at this location was, but the fountain was still there.
Up at the front door, signs have been taped to the door which was written by the founder of Casa Ole, Larry Forehand. It also includes a map of other locations in the Houston area.
I believe this was the To-Go entrance at one point. However, it didn’t have any signs indicating what it was.
There is a used car lot located directly to the right of the building. To help preserve some of the charm of not looking at old cars while you eat, a fence was built and this area was styled with potted plants, and mulch.
Looking into the restaurant not much has been touched. Some of the lights are still even on.
You can see the lit accent lighting on the support beam to the far left, along with the Exit sign above the emergency door.
Moving further down the right side of the building we come to an “abandoned” window which has not seen any love in a while. There’s another phony abandoned window on the opposite side of the building, in much better shape. This was never seen by customers.
The back end of the building really goes to show how great of a theme job was done with the stucco, and building additions. Notice the window on this side, which includes the original awning.
This location had an extra grass lot, which I remember parking in quite a lot. Although, it looks like it hasn’t been used much lately.
A better look at the nicer window reveals that is is just building decor, also notice the outside of the emergency exit on the right.
This side of the restaurant looks the same, like it’s ready to open back up at any minute.
I couldn’t figure out exactly where this door led, but I’m thinking this was maybe a private room from the dining room?
These tables even had table cloths on them. Someone must have stopped mid-setup.
A final look back at Fort Bend County’s sole Casa Ole made me some what nostalgic. I remember Case Ole as being quite the celebratory place. The food was delicious, and reviews show this held true up until the end. If anything this restaurant has been effected by a demographic shift in the neighborhood. The Stafford area, which has shifted from upper middle class highway fodder to largely industrial uses, and lower class commercial tenants make this a difficult area to operate in.. Only time will tell what will pop up in here, but Casa Ole will be missed.
Its final day of operation was July, 21 2018.
“Fresh Today, Casa Ole”. Jose Lima
Thanks for posting the pictures. Sad to see that it’s closed down. I ate there probably hundreds of times between 1987 and 2000-ish. Loved it, loved their green sauce.
We moved away from the Houston area in 2004 and hadn’t been back until a few years ago. I’d been really looking forward to eating there again when we came into town, but it was really disappointing. The food quality had really gone downhill.
Your first interior shot is the dining area off to the right of the reception/cashier area. It was the original smoking area. The narrow garden area was the view from the windows in that section.
Iirc, the french doors led from the main dining area to that narrow room in the next to the last picture. It may have been a private dining/party room originally, but in later years it became the smoking section as smoking in restaurants became more and more frowned upon. The open, rounded door at the far end of the room led to the reception/cashier area and the french doors would have been at the front/left of the photo, on the side with the tables and chairs.
I remember having to park in that grassy area a few times because the place was so packed. There were times when we gave up and went someplace else to eat just because we couldn’t find parking. It was that popular at the time.