Glenn's Cafe - Columbia, MO

I was in Columbia, MO recently and invited a dealer and his wife out to dinner.  My ulterior motive was to try the reincarnation of the famed Glenn's Cafe in Columbia, a long time culinary destination that had closed, then reopened in a small near Columbia a few years ago, then reopened in downtown Columbia as part of the renovated Tiger Hotel in 2013.  Glenn's had been one of my all-time favorite restaurants, one that a good friend of mine who lived in Columbia turned me on to years ago.  It was a special place for him, as well - his first date with his wife was at the second Glenn's on the corner of 9th and Cherry.

The first Glenn's was opened in the early 40's by Glenn Purdy and his wife, Tilley.  It was located along side U.S. Highway 40 on the north side of Columbia.  Basically a combination gas station and diner, the Purdy's ran Glenn's for over 40 years, staying open when Interstate 70 was built parallel to the highway.  The Purdy's changed the name from Glenn's Drive In to Glenn's Cafe to reflect the more upscale food the small restaurant was serving.

(Pictured left - The original Glenn's Cafe on what is now Business Loop 70 on the north side of Columbia.)   

The Purdy's sold their business and it went through a couple of owners before a young restaurateur by the name of Steve Cupp bought the place in 1985.  Cupp immediately put his stamp on the place by offering Cajun-stamped entrees featuring steaks, seafood, chicken and pork.  (This was the first time I was introduced to Glenn's Cafe.)  Looking to heighten Glenn's profile, Cupp moved the restaurant to downtown Columbia in 1988, just north of the University of Missouri campus.  

Citing a lack of profits, Cupp closed the downtown Columbia location for Glenn's in 2002.  I was told that he hung out in the Caribbean for awhile before moving back to Central Missouri in 2006 to open the 3rd incarnation of Glenn's Cafe in the newly renovated Hotel Frederick in Boonville, MO, about 25 miles west of Columbia.  

(Pictured left - Steve Cupp.  Photo courtesy L.G. Patterson from Inside Columbia Magazine) 

Cupp was approached to become the food and beverage director for the Tiger Hotel, an upscale boutique hotel in downtown Columbia that had undergone an extensive renovation in 2013.  He jumped at the chance to bring Glenn's back to Columbia as it turned out that 50% of his clientele would drive the 25 from the city out to Boonville to eat at his restaurant.

It was a young lady who greeted me at the 4th edition of Glenn's Cafe now in the Tiger Hotel at the corner of 8th and Cherry.  (see map)  The venerable and iconic Glenn's Cafe sign hung from the side of the building - the original Glenn's Cafe sign that was on the original building on the north side of town.  When Cupp wanted to hang the sign on the side of the Tiger Hotel, local leaders cited a city ordinance that restricted signs in the downtown business district.  A civic uproar ensued with locals - including the Columbia Historic Preservation Committee - calling on City Hall to allow the sign to be hung.  I heard that Cupp and the owners of the Tiger Hotel threatened to stop the development, but city leaders gave them an exemption earlier this year and the well-known sign was hung from the side of the building.

My dealer and his wife were already seated in the ornate and posh dining room at Glenn's Cafe.  The second Glenn's Cafe - a block to the east - had more of an art deco theme to it.  This was definitely more upscale than the old downtown Columbia location.  

 
Our waitress - Crystal - came over to greet us as we took a look through the menu.  She took our drink orders - I got a Dixie beer, my dealer got a Coors Light, and his wife got a cosmopolitan.  She brought my Dixie beer to me, but didn't have the Coors Light or the cosmo.  After about another 5 minutes, she brought out the cosmopolitan, but said that they were out of Coors Light.  My dealer said, "Well, OK.  How about a Busch Light?"  She said she'd get that right away.  Right away was another 5 plus minutes.  When she brought his beer, she apologized and said, "The bar (which is pretty small and in the connecting passage way between the hotel lobby and the restaurant - pictured above right) is slammed."  I immediately ordered a second Dixie figuring that it would be sometime before I'd get it.  

Many of the items on the menu were the same as when I was last in Glenn's with my wife, my friend and his wife sometime about 15 years ago.  The shrimp creole was always delicious, as was the spicy bronzed pork chops.  Their roasted prime rib comes with Yorkshire pudding, and the Cajun-Italian infused Pastalaya featured penne pasta mixed with shrimp, a house-made tasso ham, smoked duck and andouille sausage in a seafood reduction sauce.  Glenn's also had their famous gumbo on the menu.  I couldn't pass up getting a cup of the gumbo.  

My dealer and his wife talked about the cornbread at Glenn's, calling it the best they've ever had.  This, too, was their first visit to Glenn's since it reopened in Columbia and they were giddy to get some of the cornbread with their meal. This was probably the most important point they made to Crystal when they ordered their food. My dealer's wife ordered the Pastalaya and my dealer ordered the jumbo deep fried shrimp.  He asked if I wanted to get some oysters on the half shell as an appetizer and I couldn't say no.  He ordered a half dozen for he and I to split (his wife didn't care for oysters).  

I ordered the blackened redfish, not knowing if I would actually getting redfish anymore than some sort of seafish with Cajun seasonings.  And I got a cup of their wonderful gumbo.  

This is where things got a little discombobulated.  Service had been choppy up to that point - Crystal was taking care of a number of tables in our immediate area and we were doing a lot of talking up to the point of ordering our food.  We weren't in a large hurry, but we noticed that she would leave us alone for long periods of time.  After she took our food orders, we were sitting talking, waiting for the oysters and the gumbo to come out.  About 15 minutes after we ordered, our main entrees came out.  I said to Crystal, "Uh, hey.  We didn't get the oysters and the gumbo." 

She said, "Oh, they're right behind me."  A young man was carrying the oysters and the gumbo on another tray.  When I said that I had hoped we'd get the gumbo and oysters before the meal and not after the entrees had shown up, she apologized.  Suddenly, we had a table full of plates with not a lot of room to maneuver through our dishes.  

Well, at least the gumbo was there.  It was that same dark brown gumbo I remembered from Glenn's Cafe years and years ago.  It had a wonderful smoky flavor to it and was even better when zipped up with some Tabasco sauce. The oysters were meaty and plump with little grit.  They actually gave us seven oysters on the half shell and I let the dealer have the last one after I had already eaten three.  

 
Through all this, I was trying my blackened redfish while taking bites of gumbo and raw oysters.  It was a large filet with copious amounts of Glenn's Cajun seasonings.  The taste was very good and the fish was flaky and fresh tasting.  The zipped up taste of the seasonings was exactly what I remembered from the past.  

The redfish also came with some whipped garlic potatoes that were pretty good, and some sweet-glazed carrots that were also good.  I do like my carrots to be somewhat sweet if they're cooked.  

The Pastalaya was a large bowl of penne pasta, tasso ham, andouille sausage and shrimp mixed in with the reduction sauce.  My dealer's wife said that it was somewhat spicy, but not too bad.  She said, "You know, I can't remember if this was on the menu before, but it's very good."  

 

My dealer had the large battered shrimp that came with a side of creamy cole slaw and a berried rice.  It came with a small ceramic container filled with Glenn's sweet and sour sauce for dipping.  My dealer said that he normally doesn't care for battered shrimp, but "the batter here is pretty good."  He wasn't unhappy in the least with his choice.

However, my dealer and his wife were unhappy with the cornbread.  Their anticipation on the cornbread exceeded either of their entrees, but after the first bite into the cornbread they both looked at one another and agreed, "It's not the same.  They've changed it."  

A manager came over to our table during our meal.  "I understand there was a timing problem with getting your food," he said.  "What can we do to make it up to you?"  I suggested taking the oysters off the bill.  "Done," he said with authority.  But when my dealer and his wife commented that the cornbread wasn't the same, he said, "It should be the same as it's always been.  He hasn't changed the recipe of many of the items he originally had."  

My dealer said, "Maybe it's because we haven't eaten at Glenn's since it was first out in Boonville, but I remember the taste of that cornbread from 25 years ago.  To us (pointing to his wife), it doesn't taste the same."  The manager said he'd check with Steve Cupp to see if there was a change.  When he came back to let them know that it was the same recipe, my dealer said, "Maybe my tastebuds have changed as I've gotten older."

The one thing I remember from earlier visits to Glenn's Cafe was their great bread pudding.  It's served warm in a bourbon sauce and it's just to die for.  I hemmed and hawed about getting one, but I finally couldn't say no.  I asked Crystal to bring three spoons, but my dealer and his wife declined the offer.  Fine!  More for me!

And the bread pudding was everything I remembered it to be.  It was sinfully rich and flavorful.  The creamy bourbon sauce is a great complement to the sweet taste of their bread pudding.  My dealer's wife couldn't resist, especially after the look of bliss on my face after each bite.  She had a bite and said, "Oh, my gosh, that's rich."  

When Crystal brought out my bread pudding, she also brought out a small container that held extra pieces of the cornbread.  She said, "This is a little thank you and an apology for the service."  

My dealer's wife said, "I didn't have the heart to tell her we were disappointed that it wasn't the same."  My dealer said the cornbread wouldn't go to waste.

It always bums me out when favorite restaurants go out of business, but then come back - and it's never the same as it was.  To me, Glenn's Cafe was just as I remembered 20 plus years ago, only in a different spot a block away.  Yeah, the service was choppy, but they realized it and did their best to make up for it.  (I later found out that they had only been open for less than 90 days at this new location and were still working the kinks out.)   It won't deter me from going back at some point - always hoping that the blackened swordfish will be available on that visit. 

Comments

[Jann's Sister]

The employee you found so laughable was my sister. Jann was more than "the drunk chick." You weren't aware that she was not only the hostess, she was the front of the house manager for almost two decades. She was a single mother who worked split shifts six days and nights a week under often difficult conditions. She couldn't leave work behind at the end of the day, though, because the boss was also her partner. Still laughing?

When Jann was going through chemo for leukemia, customers didn't have a clue. She didn't show her pain or her problems that way. She later beat breast cancer after surgery and radiation. Hilarious, huh?

Overcoming alcoholism proved harder. Her obituary is at http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sedaliademocrat/obituary.aspx?pid=169749069. It doesn't quite convey how bright, witty and beloved she was. She died a month before your post appears to have been published. At least she didn't have to learn of your cruel words, or know that you mockingly memorialized her sad struggle forever on the internet. Funny, right?

I hope in future you think twice before laughing at or publicly shaming anyone else. No joke.

[Road Tips]

You're right - I apologize. I removed that part from the entry.