Mrs. White's Golden Rule Cafe

An Arizona landmark since 1964, Mrs. White’s Golden Rule Café serves up home cooking goodness to the patrons of Phoenix. Mrs. White’s golden brown southern fried chicken, smothered pork chops and catfish don the entrée list. All meals come with your choice of two side dishes. Choices include greens, mac and cheese, rice, okra, sweet potatoes, green beans and more. It doesn’t matter which meal you chose, at $10 plus tax you won’t be disappointed with the quality or quantity of your meal. Though the portions are large, but you’ll definitely want to save some room for the peach cobbler ($4).

Mrs. White’s story is quite remarkable. In the early 1960’s, prior to the passing of the Civil Rights Bill and Voting Rights Act, when African Americans were struggling just to make ends meet, Mrs. White opened for business. She was a single African American mother of four young children with aspirations of having something more to offer her children.
 
During that time, the banks did not offer loans to African Americans; Mrs. White borrowed $500 from one of her loyal customers. She purchased property from her brother and set out to establish the business under the name and concept of the “Golden Rule” – “do unto others as yea would have them do unto you.”
 
Though, the early years were a struggle; the restaurant was family owned and operated seven days a week, open 24 hours a day. The most successful time in those early years was when the Phoenix Open would come to town and African American caddies for the professional golfers would come in the Café throughout the week, eat a full meal, and leave a few dollars tip.

Today, Mrs. White's has quite a loyal following. Known as one of Arizona's ultimate destinations for comfort food, patrons flock to enjoy a quality meal at a reasonable price. In addition to Mrs. White's restaurant, her grandson, Larry "Lo Lo" White owns and operates two other Soul Food restaurants in the Valley. You can visit Lo Lo’s Chicken and Waffles in Phoenix and Scottsdale to experience the delectable combination of fried chicken and waffles.
 

- by Jennifer Pruett, Phoenix Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Jennifer Pruett

A self proclaimed “queen of everything," Jennifer is a writer, planner and passionate lover of making exciting events extra special. As a creative mother of two she loves art, music, family, friends, exotic cuisine and exploring new areas of self improvement. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in liberal studies from the University of Oklahoma and has been writing restaurant and attraction reviews in the Phoenix Metro area since January, 2009.