The Beloved Small Town Restaurant Where Kansans Have Eaten For Decades

Some days we are just looking for a restaurant during a road trip, and other days our road trip is about the restaurant itself. Sometimes it's nice to sit down in a restaurant that isn't loud, exciting, or fancy in any way. This southeast Kansas staple is one small town restaurant we've enjoyed for decades, and we hope it continues to taste this good for years to come!

Welcome to the old but gold Olpe Chicken House, a restaurant that's gone from a seven-seat diner named Cooper's Cafe to what you see here today.

Ever since it began in 1934, the diner has had many a change, including adding more space with a new building after the old one burned down, and as it changed hands along the way, more customers came with each wave.

They've been recognized along the years for their dedication to amazing chicken dinners, and have been included in publications like USA Today for being one of the best restaurants in the country and a few other "best of" lists here and there.

Their fried chicken dinner may have only cost you 65 cents in 1958, but today it'll run you from 7.50 to 9.50 for the chicken dinner today, depending on how many pieces you'd like it to come with.

However, if you're a big eater, you should definitely sample some of their other goods, like the homemade onion rings, fried okra, and catfish.

As with any small town restaurant worth its salt, you simply can't leave without one of their homemade desserts. Whatever the dessert of the day is, it's bound to be just as delicious as the last.

Olpe Chicken House is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Address: 8 KS-99, Olpe, KS 66865

Since fried chicken is such a staple in southeast Kansas, you'll also find a few other places close by that appear on our Signature Kansas Dishes list.