Business Spotlight: Ebbet's Field

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by Brent Lawrence |ret||ret||tab|

SBJ Reporter|ret||ret||tab|

blawrence@sbj.net|ret||ret||tab|

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Lance Reeves can see the future and the past of downtown Springfield without leaving his Ebbets Field restaurant.|ret||ret||tab|

The walls are decorated with photos of past sports figures and memorabilia, including one picture of the original Ebbets Field restaurant on East Cherry Street, now the location of a parking garage for the Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts.|ret||ret||tab|

From the second floor of his restaurant, Reeves also can see the future of downtown the nearly complete Hammons Field baseball stadium.|ret||ret||tab|

"A lot of this talk of the minor-league park and multipurpose arena was in the papers in the spring and summer of 2000 when (former Ebbets Field owner Nick Russo) and I were negotiating. I tried to read every article I could, hoping that these would come together and hoping that Nick and I could come together," Reeves said. "I kind of had my fingers crossed. I feel very fortunate that everyone worked real hard to achieve these things."|ret||ret||tab|

After seven months of negotiations, Reeves purchased Ebbets Field from Russo for an undisclosed amount in November 2000. Russo opened Ebbets Field in 1981 on East Cherry, and after a contentious fight over the eminent domain purchase of the property by Southwest Missouri State University in 1993, Russo re-opened Ebbets at 1027 E. Walnut St. in 1994. |ret||ret||tab|

Now Reeves an unabashed St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan who proudly notes he's been to "14 opening days in a row" welcomes the future of baseball in Springfield with open arms.|ret||ret||tab|

"I always try to be conservative and not get my hopes up too much. What would really be good is if we could get the minor-league baseball club," Reeves said. "Because then with the (SMSU) Bears' 20 dates and then with the minor-league club, you're probably talking about another 50 to 60 home dates in the summer, which is a slow-down period for us. That gets us back to when school starts back up, and that would be a big deal."|ret||ret||tab|

While Hammons Field and the proposed minor-league baseball team would provide a big lift for Ebbets, Reeves believes the proposed multipurpose arena would complete the picture.|ret||ret||tab|

"I feel like that's the last piece to the puzzle, not just for me but for everyone downtown. I'm rooting for everyone downtown as well," Reeves said. "If we can get the multipurpose arena and then another minor-league hockey club, maybe arena football all those things where you'll have activities all year around. ... But the ballpark that Mr. (John Q.) Hammons is building is a huge step in the right direction."|ret||ret||tab|

While the baseball stadium is a big step, Reeves has taken many smaller steps on his own. He has 25 employees, up from 15 when he purchased the business. |ret||ret||tab|

He also remodeled about 1,000 square feet of under-utilized second-floor space into seating for 60, a bar and restrooms. The entire restaurant seats 140.|ret||ret||tab|

"It was a space we were already using, but we weren't using it properly," Reeves said. "We only used it for overflow and private parties. We had gotten to the point where five or six times a month the downstairs became so busy that it really wasn't enjoyable for a customer. My thinking was that if we remodeled the upstairs people would enjoy themselves more and come back. So far, it has met my expectations."|ret||ret||tab|

Ebbets Field also is adding to its menu, offering St. Louis-style pizzas. "The sauce and sausage are coming directly from The Hill in St. Louis," Reeves said.|ret||ret||tab|

Reeves also has taken steps toward learning a business he didn't have a clue about prior to 2000. Reeves previously worked 11 years at Prime Inc. in flatbed operations. |ret||ret||tab|

He quickly learned Rule No. 1 was taking care of the customers.|ret||ret||tab|

"You're only as good as the last customer you satisfied," said Reeves, who regularly darts between tables to check on customers and service. "That's a challenge that presents itself every day. If you can't make every customer happy or satisfied, then they're not going to come back.|ret||ret||tab|

"I try to at least have some contact with every table. Most of the time it's good, but every once in a while it's bad. When that happens, you have to be quick on your feet and try to appease the customer."|ret||ret||tab|

While Ebbets Field is relatively close to the SMSU campus, Reeves noted that's its not a college bar. Instead, he said, his goal is to be a sports pub with a family atmosphere.|ret||ret||tab|

"I like Ebbets because it gives you the Cheers' atmosphere and everybody knows my name," said Ebbets Field regular customer Jerrid Fox. "The location is secluded from the other bars, and you don't always have your pub crawl crowds every Friday and Saturday night. It is a very friendly bar, and the owner is very appreciative of his customers."|ret||ret||tab|

Sixty percent of the restaurant's gross sales are from food, with 40 percent coming from alcohol. Reeves declined to give annual sales figures, but estimated the restaurant serves about 150 customers on an average day. He said the restaurant goes through about 12,000 pounds of Black Angus burger from American Meat Processing Co. on a yearly basis.|ret||ret||tab|

"Our busiest times are surrounded around big local sporting events and the playoffs, World Series and Super Bowl," said Reeves, who has installed 12 televisions including three big screens. "We've really tried to stress becoming a sports pub. We don't ever get that rowdy. Whenever you have a big game, you're going to have people in rooting pretty vigorously for their team. But other than that we try to make it a family-type atmosphere."|ret||ret||tab|

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