UPDATED: Eat-Rite Diner closes; it may open

The historic Eat-Rite Diner in St. Louis closed Tuesday for at least two weeks because of mechanical issues, and its aging owner said the shutdown may be even longer than that.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which landed the scoop, talked to the restaurant’s owner, L.B. Powers, who said the shutdown is because of an exhaust-fan problem.

However, Powers said he “honestly (doesn’t) know” if Eat-Rite will reopen.

“I’m 80 years old,” he said. “I’m not in good health.”

If Eat-Rite does reopen, Powers says, it won’t be for at least two weeks.

Kevin Killeen at KMOX radio in St. Louis also reported Powers needs knee surgery.

And someone promptly launched a GoFundMe campaign to help Powers repair that exhaust fan. The goal was $1,500; about $460 was pledged in just six hours as of early Wednesday.

A follow-up story by the Riverfront Times noted a debunked rumor in July that the Eat-Rite would close. But Powers’ wife, Dorcus, told the newspaper the restaurant’s future wasn’t particularly bright, either.

[…] She also noted that she and her husband are aging — and that they fear, since the building has been grandfathered in on some city codes, that they will not be able to sell the business.

“We’re old,” says Powers simply. “We should sell. But we don’t think we can sell. And we don’t know when we’ll get too disabled, or too old to carry on.”

L.B. Powers might relent and reopen the Eat-Rite after repairing the fan problem. But with the code issues and his advanced age, the restaurant south of downtown faces a cloudy future.

The Eat-Rite was an old-school gem of worm Formica counters and hand-painted menu boards where one could order cheeseburgers by the half-dozen or a slinger (a mess of fried eggs, hashbrowns, cheese and hamburger patties slathered with chili and onions).

A video shows the slinger process well;

The Eat-Rite — known for its “Eat Rite or Don’t Eat At All” motto — sits on an older Chouteau alignment of Route 66 and only a block from the better-known Tucker Boulevard alignment of 66.

According to Norma Maret Bolin’s “Route 66 St. Louis” book, a business has existed at the Eat-Rite site since 1916. First as a coal-selling venture, it became a gas station during the 1920s. It converted into a White Kitchen restaurant in 1936, then a Regal Sandwich Restaurant in 1957, then Gateway Sandwich in the 1960s and ’70s. It finally was named the Eat-Rite in 1986.

UPDATED 10/27/2017: The owners of the Eat-Rite say they probably will reopen.

KSDK-TV in St. Louis reports the owners are working on a plan to reopen:

The Powers family says they’re humbled by the community reaction, but they say the closure wasn’t about money. Right now, their biggest issue they say, is staffing.

A family friend is working with the Powers on plans to reopen the diner. There’s currently no timeline on when the diner will be back open.

The GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $1,700 to help pay for the exhaust-fan repairs, more than the $1,500 goal.

(Image of the Eat-Rite Diner in St. Louis by Paul Sableman via Flickr)

6 thoughts on “UPDATED: Eat-Rite Diner closes; it may open

  1. Dear Ron,

    The Route 66 News website is again carrying a reportedly fraudulent advert telling people to apply for “Brexit Severance Cheques” from the British government.

    From the Just Answer website:

    “JOSHUA, Lawyer replied 1 month ago.
    Thanks. This appears to be a scam which is presently in its infancy but is gathering steam. There is no fund set up by the EU much less the UK government to provide payments or compensation for leaving the EU. It appears that fraudsters are selling this story as a basis to offer to claim cheques which are supposedly being paid on the above basis if you agree to pay the fraudster an up front fee. This is no different to any other advanced fee fraud, the objective of which is to encourage you to pay them a fee in return for the promise of some greater reward which then never materialises. This is not something I would recommend you involve yourself in as the individuals you may deal with are likely to be attempting a fraud at your expense.”

    I would suggest that, for the sake of the integrity of the Route 66 News website, this “advanced fee fraud” (it asks for 38 GBP up front for who knows what) is immediately removed and not allowed to reappear.

    Best wishes – Eric Hayman

    1. Except for a few nominal things, I have no control over what ads third parties place on the website. I can try to report it to the vendor if you can tell me on what part of the page it appeared.

  2. Hullo again. Ron. It appeared on the main page, beneath the article itself, when clicking on “See all comments”, and it was shown twice. I saw it below another article a week or so ago.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.