Missouri’s oldest restaurant has closed after 190 years, and its future is uncertain

In Arrow Rock, a freckle of a town in mid-Missouri, the J. Huston Tavern has long boasted of being the oldest continuously operating restaurant west of the Mississippi River.

Last month, operations stopped. And it’s not clear if, or when, they’ll start back up again.

J. Huston Tavern is technically owned by the state of Missouri. Its building, at 305 Main St., is part of the Arrow Rock State Historic Site. For years, the state has bid out the restaurant space to various operators.

Friends of Arrow Rock, a local preservation group, signed a 10-year agreement starting in 2019 to operate J. Huston Tavern.

Best-known for its pan-fried chicken, the restaurant also served pork tenderloins, burgers, country cured ham, and smoked beef brisket.

But on Feb. 1, the Friends of Arrow Rock exercised a termination clause, “citing their need to preserve and protect the financial resources of the organization,” said Tisha Holden, a spokeswoman for the state.

That leaves the restaurant, built in 1834 by Joseph Huston, Sr., without an operator for the foreseeable future.

“The state is working diligently to put the concession opportunity out for competitive bid this spring,” Holden said. But, she added, the timing is “uncertain at this point.”

The bid will eventually be posted on MissouriBUYS, the state’s e-procurement site, and interested bidders can register online at missouribuys.mo.gov/registration. A variety of concessionaires have previously run the restaurant. A local woman named Bunny Thomas operated it until 2000, and Missouri Valley College, in Marshall, had a contract at one point, said Cindy Imhoff, the administrator of the Arrow Rock State Historic Site.

“The state ran it for a brief time as well,” Imhoff said.

Friends of Arrow Rock could not be reached for comment about its decision to forego the remaining five years on its lease at J. Huston Tavern. Its tenure as operator was marked by challenges, including a 2019 kitchen fire that necessitated a summer of outdoor service under a tent; a COVID shutdown; and the staffing issues that have hurt restaurants nationwide in the wake of the pandemic.

Imhoff said Friends of Arrow Rock operated the restaurant consistently throughout 2023.

Despite its miniature size — Arrow Rock’s population is somewhere around 70 — the town remains a modest tourist draw, principally due to the Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre, which produces musicals and dramas every summer and fall.

Catalpa, the other restaurant in town, remains open on a seasonal basis.