5 Dives: Pappy's

Pappy’s

Address: 934 N. Main Ave.

Phone: (417) 866-8744

Hours: 11 a.m.–8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; 11 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Saturday

Payment: Credit or cash

Known for: Barbecue and for holding Springfield’s oldest continuously running beer-by-the-drink license (purchased just after the 1930s prohibition)

Seating: 22 seats around six tables, and nine bar stools

Décor: Car and sports theme

Clientele: “The mayor and everybody.”

Dress: Anything goes

It had been so many years since we visited Pappy’s, we both got a little lost trying to remember exactly which street it was on. I got a little more lost than Paul – he beat me there and had already told the whole place that I was a bit “directionally challenged.” When I walked in, the diners hid their shirks, but I knew I’d been talked about.

Pappy’s is that kind of place – where you can be left alone or share your pain, whichever you choose.

The menu freely shares Pappy’s history. The original Pappy was Paul Ankrom, who died in 1988. He worked at O’Reilly’s Auto Parts, and evidence of his interest in auto shows decorates the walls.

The building actually began life as a shoe repair shop, and then became a grocery store. In 1924, it became a café, serving the old St. John’s Hospital, which was just around the corner. The restaurant is now owned by Jeremy Hewitt.

The food itself hasn’t changed much over the years – they told us “same recipes, same sauces,” although within the past year, Pappy’s added a new chef, Jack Rauhoff. This new chef in town has spiced up things with daily specials that might surprise – jambalaya was on his repertoire for this week, and a blackened tilapia with apple rémoulade was on the menu.

We stuck with the tried and true: smoked pork, beef brisket, a side hot link and crinkle-cut fries. A sandwich with fries is $5.50 for a small and $6.50 for a large. If they hadn’t been out of ribs, we might have talked them into the combo dinner at lunch – beef, ribs, and ham for $11.95. Note: If you don’t like your hot links too spicy, this is the place for you.

During lunch, we ran into longtime Pappy’s fan Stuart Wheeler, of Springfield.

“I’ve been coming here my whole life,” Wheeler says. “My grandfather lived just down the street. He’d come in here after work, and my grandmother would have to come here and drag him out in time for supper!”

Wheeler recommends the pulled pork as well as the spirit of the place, which he points out is embodied in the memory of Jim Hacker. Hacker was apparently the local “great guy,” who visited Pappy’s six days a week for 13 years, until his death in 1993. Pappy’s celebrates Hacker Day on Dec. 23.

Our waitress, Linda Gray, told us she’s been at Pappy’s for 16 years.

“It’s a great place,” she says. “When you work here, you don’t just get a job. You get another family. It’s a lot of the same old guys coming in who have been sitting here for years. But the mayor, and everybody, eats here.”

On our visit, all of the bar stools were full and the tables were occupied by businesspeople we recognized from BKD LLP, CoxHealth and the Springfield News-Leader. The business lunch crowd, in other words, knows the way to Pappy’s.

Paul K. Logsdon is director of public relations and publications for Evangel University, and Kay Logsdon is director of the Food Channel for Noble. They have written restaurant reviews for 25 years.