The Spudder Restaurant

The Spudder was opened by the original owners, John Phillips (son of famous oilman Frank Phillips) and John Brennemen, in 1976, and has been in continuous operation since. The restaurant’s namesake, “The Spudder,” sits outside. A Spudder is a cable tool rig made for drilling shallow wells. Today, spudding a well refers to starting the hole in the ground so that a rotary drill can be placed to bore the well to depth.