By Don Shoopman
Whatever steered a small family get-together on the final night of a vacation to a bar and grill in Independence, Mo., ought to be bottled for posterity.
Anyone can drink or relate to that. Even a blind squirrel finds a diamond in the rough, er, a nut, or learns you can’t always judge a book by its cover. After all, the nine family members wound up at Tom’s Bar & Grill in Independence, where a large, squarish sign an estimated 15-feet above the ground had a featured yellow cowboy hat cocked over yellow/red letters. Between the sign and building were an old reddish vehicle adorned with skeletal props and skulls resting next to a 10-or so foot tall skeleton next to a 5-foot high skeleton of a dog.
Hmmmmmm. They went inside, anyway, perhaps with a little trepidation and no idea what to expect because none of them, even the three family members who live in the region, had been there before. It was happenstance, or fate, indeed.
Fun House Pizza and Pub just down the road from Tom’s Bar & Grill on U.S. 40 was the intended destination for four adults and two young children from the Deep South who visited family members mostly in the Kansas City, Mo., area in mid-August. However, the pizza and pub, known for tasty pizza and being “kid friendly” featuring numerous arcade games, inexplicably was unable to serve beer that evening, an afternoon phone call from a family member revealed.
Hmmmmm. What to do at the last minute? A quick check of nearby eateries, etc. (isn’t there always an etc.?) revealed another establishment nearby, Tom’s Bar & Grill, which got the nod. The family arrived in two pickup trucks and a minivan between 5-6 p.m., after work hours.
A few patrons relaxed on bar stools whetting their whistle with adult beverages while several tables on the entrance side of the dining hall were occupied by diners. It was as if everyone’s chins were tied to a string when the family walked inside. Heads swiveled, conversations halted in mid-sentence and … or, or, did those family members just imagine it as they made their way to tables on the other side?
Occasionally, someone played tunes on the juke box. Soon the place cleared, even along the bar, save for one or two souls, and the family had it pretty much to itself on a Wednesday evening. Televisions hanging along each wall showed sports, mostly a Kansas City Royals game against the Texas Rangers.
There they were, sitting two each at small or square round tables, the patriarch, PawPaw Don, and his wife, MawMaw June, seated across from each other, while his younger brother, Uncle Keith, was alone on his right. PawPaw’s youngest sister, Aunt Barbara, was with her husband, Uncle Bob, and seated to their left were PawPaw and MawMaw’s youngest son, Jacob, and his significant other, Stephanie, and their young boys, 2 ½-year-old Miller and 6-month-old Cooper.
PawPaw Don was born and raised in Kansas City. He made a career move at age 23 and relocated to Louisiana, where he met and married MawMaw June in ’83. Jacob, the youngest of their two sons, and Stephanie had two sons.
The Louisianians stayed Sunday through Wednesday night at an Airbnb near Kaufman Stadium, home of the Royals. Their vacation days were filled with a large family reunion at the Airbnb, plus a trip to the Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium and taking in a Royals ballgame, all in all a long, pleasant, quasi-“Griswold”-ish, stay. They went to Fritz’s Railroad Restaurant twice in Kansas City, Kansas, an eatery where a toy train on elevated tracks delivered each customer’s meal, which was good fare.
Inside Tom’s Bar & Grill, it was time to get down to business. This part included interaction with a nice, polite waitress who apparently wasn’t having her best day on the floor. But it all worked out as four of the adults got a beer and all ordered off the menu, once they got one in their hands.
Apprehension reigned as they scanned the menu, which included “Sammich and Wraps” like Wrappin’ Duke and Crispy Pig; “Dinner is Served” such as Lone Ranger Pork Steak, Plain Jane Steak and Outlaw Meatloaf; “Tasty Teasers” like Skinny Dipping Suds and Fungus Among Us, and “All Things Burger” such as Nothing Fancy and Cowboy Burger. There was more … but you get the gist.
The wait, which seemed intolerably long but understandable considering the volume of orders, including something for Miller, was punctuated by nervous chatter and laughter. All wondered about the quality of the food. They needn’t have been concerned.
It was good to very good was the near-unanimous opinion. A lot of lip-smackin’ vacationers were happy, even Keith, who ordered something he never heard of and was satisfied.
Reviews over the past few years overwhelmingly favor the establishment, its food and its drinks, and the new ownership during that span. One reviewer wrote, “It’s still the same chill dive bar but with a better service for sure. The drink prices seem to be better than they used to be, which is nice.”
Another reviewer said staffers treat patrons like friends rather than customers after describing it as “a lovable dive bar with a heart of gold.”
Call it a dive bar. The establishment is OK with that. But don’t call it a biker bar, which one reviewer did claiming he didn’t feel welcome and was the target of some “dirty looks” by patrons. He also advised people to avoid it “if you’re not a straight white male.” The owner’s reply: “I am very sorry you felt unwelcome. We are not a ‘biker bar.’ However, we are biker friendly …” and gave the reviewer an email address to further “know what we can do to change this experience for you.”
An estimated 95-plus percent of the reviews reflected the opinion of another patron, who wrote, “We went out for dinner and a beer, and it was amazing. The menu selections were so much better than ‘bar food,’ the salads were fresh, the steaks were cooked to perfection and the beer was cold. …”
Tom’s Bar & Grill got a thumbs up from the family members.
Simply, there’s the real likelihood the family discovered a quintessential slice of Americana, a cool place to hang out. Too melodramatic? Perhaps. But how many places have a replica of the iconic “leg lamp” movie prop in the classic Christmas film “A Christmas Story?” Jacob and Stephanie and their sons posed for several photos next to the lit up leg lamp before exiting the building.
And they all posed, proudly, at the old reddish vehicle and skeletons under the lights outside.
