If you have lived in East Dallas for any period of time, you have likely heard the ghostly tales of Snuffer’s Restaurant on Lower Greenville. There are several versions, including a spirit left behind after a stabbing years ago when the restaurant was originally a biker bar. Another story claims those cheddar fries are being cooked above a children’s cemetery, and the voices of children can often be heard late into the night.
If I were forced to smell those amazing cheddar fries for eternity, I would haunt the place, too.
In the early 1980s, Snuffer’s was the first Dallas restaurant I stumbled into during a random college road trip. Knowing nothing of the city, the restaurant selection was complete serendipity. Something drew me inside. Perhaps it was the smell of grease, the perfect hangover cure.
Shortly after graduation with Waco in my rearview mirror, I moved to Dallas. As quickly as possible. I needed to live near those gooey cheddar fries. Years later, those fries continue to haunt me, remaining my favorite sinful indulgence, the reason I practice yoga and eat semi-healthy. If I find myself on death row, cheddar fries will be included in my last meal.
Since opening in 1978, employees and customers have reported sightings of milky apparitions, levitating glasses, flickering lights, voices and glowing orbs. Although I’ve eaten many a meal at Snuffer’s throughout the years, I’ve never witnessed anything more spirited than the normal restaurant crowd.
With owner Pat Snuffer’s permission, I would be happy to spend the night and further investigate. Of course, in the dead of night, all of East Dallas would likely see me running down Greenville Avenue, shrieking, channeling Don Knotts in The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, rather than my childhood heroine Nancy Drew. But if I could somehow learn the secret to making those cheddar fries while there, it would be well worth it.
