Former Ebbets Field owner plans new venture

The former owner of Springfield sports restaurant Ebbets Field is planning his second dining venture at the recently closed McSalty’s Pizza Cafe.

Lance Reeves, who sold Ebbets Field to restaurateur Bruce Swisshelm in 2010 after owning it for 10 years, closed on the purchase of the McSalty’s building, 2627 E. Sunshine St., on Oct. 5 for undisclosed terms from John Dunlop and Brian Dodds, said Ann Keyes, a spokeswoman for Reeves. She said the McSalty’s restaurant operated by Dunlop and Dodds closed last month.

Reeves plans to open a restaurant in late January called Phase 2 that would employ around 20. Keyes declined to disclose details about the type of restaurant.

“It’s not going to be pizza or a sports bar,” she said.

Keyes said the building would undergo a “major renovation,” but she was unsure how much Reeves is investing.

Since selling Ebbets Field, Reeves has continued working by making land investments locally and in Oklahoma.

Ebbets Field was among restaurants caught in the fallout of Swisshelm’s 2012 bankruptcy. Following the Chapter 11 filing in April that year, the restaurant was purchased by Pub Management LLC, a management group comprising Ron Baird, an attorney with Baird, Lightner, Millsap & Harpool PC, and Lynn and Terry Allen, the former head football coach at Missouri State University.