O'Farrell Sisters of Okoboji is the lakes area's last original diner! Follow us!
Instagram: @ofarrellsisters
Snapchat: marinadistrict
Try our world famous pancakes or any of our classic menu items! Breakfast is served all day until 2pm. Happy Hour is every day from 4-6pm with half-priced drinks!
The O'Farrell Sisters story (as told by Sharon London):
The O'Farrell Sisters restaurant was born in 1949 at the bridge on Hwy 71, between East and West Lake Okoboji. Edna Mae and Arlene O'Farrell bought the business from Ike Kissinger who was running for Sheriff of Dickinson County.
In the early years the girls were open seven days a week and had a booming business in no time. The fried chicken dinners on Sunday evenings were especially popular. There were times when the line waiting to get in was so long they'd have to lock the door and would often run out of chicken!
As children, Linda, Sharon, and Ruthie Gipner loved to play "dress up". We'd dress our kittens in doll clothes and wheel them to the restaurant in baby buggies. Restaurant patrons got a kick out of seeing us get served as regular customers.
As we got older, we'd get home from Sunday school, change clothes and rush to "The Joint" as the regulars affectionately knew it. Our duties included washing dishes, peeling potatoes or whatever Mom and Edna Mae needed. As teens, Linda, Jo Ann, and Joyce steered toward being watresses and I opeted to stay in the kitchen where I helped make pies, bread, soups, the famous pancakes and lots of burgers and fries. Back then, all fries were made from fresh potatoes!
In 1959 Arlene married and moved to Tallahassee, Florida with her husband, Furman Henderson. Edna Mae and Ferne continued in the restaurant, moving to its present location that same year. This spot had a garden and chicken coup, which was moved to our house across the street. It became a playhouse for Ruthie, Linda, and I.
Edna Mae's nieces were the mainstay of help through the 50's and early 60's. Marriages and children and careers found us all leaving the fold in the mid 60's. Ferne died in 1974 and Edna Mae in 1978. Arlene sold the business to nieces Joyce Gapinski, Jo Ann Anderson, Charlotte Sarvie, and Cheri Petersen (these are married names). The nieces successfully ran the restaurant from 1979 through 2003. After losing Jo Ann in 1997 and Cheri in 2002, Joyce and Charlotte decided to sell after the 2003 season.
The rest is "To Be Continued..."
