Restaurant

Some excitement in downtown Springfield, Mo Tuesday night.  A fire on the roof above Trolley's restaurant forced it and lofts above it to be evacuated.  Investigators say it apparently started in an electrical junction box, and was quickly put out.  No one got hurt.  One loft had minor water damage.

A car crashed into the Dragon Express Chinese food restaurant on east Chestnut Expressway late Monday night.  It's not clear if the driver was sitting in the parking lot and lunged forward, or if he drove off the road and crashed.  That's because he quickly ran away after busting through the wall.  Some people were eating inside, but no customers or workers were injured.  They say that would have been much different if the crash happened just a...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The owner of several area restaurants faces major gambling debts, which may be part of the reason that he filed for bankruptcy this month.  Bruce Swisshelm operated a variety of restaurants including the now-closed Fog City Coffee. The court filing lists a total of 16 restaurants that Swisshelm operated, including San Francisco Oven, Ebbets Field and Show-me Deli. On Friday, the San Francisco Oven on Sunshine Street was open for business.  A manager at Ebbets Field also said it was open for business.

OZARK, Mo.-- Ever-increasing demand for fresher produce keeps shortening the distance between grower and consumer.  Salads at a restaurant in downtown Springfield are coming straight from a special greenhouse. Local produce is something the Farmers Gastropub has served up from the start. "It's a big deal for a lot of the customers that come in here," said Bill Griffiths, owner of Farmers Gastropub . A special event at the restaurant in November raised money to support a new source of local produce, a hydroponic greenhouse.  The desire for local produce runs in the family.  Griffiths' son-in-law runs the greenhouse.  "You can grow year-round, and you're not tied into one season," said Allen Shevey, owner of Mo-Pro Farms.

St. Robert, Mo. --  A truck drove into a restaurant in St. Robert on Monday night. A witness tells KY3 News that it happened while customers were inside El Jimador restaurant.  KY3 News viewer Tim Cross said he was eating dinner with his family when they "heard an incredibly loud crash on the other side of the restaurant. " "We were stunned for a minute," he said, "And weren't sure what just happened.  We got up from our seats to see what the commotion was all about and saw the tables turned over, the glass shattered, broken bricks and a huge hole in the front wall.

BUFFALO, Mo. -- Hardee's employees opened their restaurant here about 5 a.m. Sunday and discovered a burglar had been inside and tried to burn it down.   They found a door open, and smelled smoke and a strong odor of propane. Buffalo police say the main propane line was disconnected but was still on, causing a loud hissing noise.  Officers cleared the scene and called the fire department to put out a fire that was started by the burglars.  The Dallas County Sheriff's department is helping the police department with the investigation.

An Arkansas man is behind bars after officers say he pulled a gun in a restaurant. Police say James Sloan was asked to leave a resort bar in Lakeview.  Sloan paid his bill and left, but allegedly came back with a gun and started a fight with an employee. A patron was able to take the gun from Sloan. Sloan's now charged with aggravated assault and carrying a weapon.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. --  Missouri Liquor Control has told Springfield's newest restaurant to take down a sign advertising "Free Margaritas Manana. "  That despite the owner's contention that the sign is clearly in jest. "I guess some people can't take a joke," said Pat Duran, owner of Santa Fe Grill on East Sunshine which opened last week. Technically, the sign violates a state law prohibiting the advertising of free alcohol.  However, "manana" is the Spanish word for "tomorrow" and...

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Albert Pujols is gone from St. Louis, and so is his name on a popular restaurant. KSDK-TV reports that the owners of the Westport restaurant formerly known as Pujols 5 have changed the name to the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame Bar and Grill. Pujols helped the Cardinals win the World Series in October, and a statue in his honor was unveiled a short time later outside the restaurant. But Pujols left St. Louis as a free agent and signed a 10-year contract to play for the Angels in California.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -  The lunch crowds just can't get enough of the grub, and the grins, served up at Galloway Station. "There is a lot of nostaligia, a lot of emotions with this place," said John Tsahiridis, general manager of Galloway Station. The restaurant is nestled down in Galloway.  Things are much quieter here since the old days, when Lone Pine Ave. out front served as Highway 65. Businesses have tried banking on the serenity and quaintness...for some its worked. "It took us ten year to get where we are now," said Tsahiridis.

While some teens are oblivious to nutrition information posted at fast food restaurants, many consider calories before ordering.   Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveyed more than 700 young people between the ages of 9 and 18.   About 20-percent of the young respondents never even noticed the calories were posted.   But of those who did, 42-percent said they used it, compared to nearly 60-percent who did not.   Girls and obese youth were most likely to consult the calorie information.

Yelp may be a website for people to review restaurants and other companies providing goods and services, but a certain group of people is using the site for another purpose. There are those who review churches, others review parks and still others let the public know their opinions about public restrooms -- but how about prison inmates reviewing the institution in which they were incarcerated? One woman writes about Riker's Island in New York : "I had a terrific getaway on this luxurious island retreat.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -  The lunch crowds just can't get enough of the grub, and the grins, served up at Galloway Station. "There is a lot of nostaligia, a lot of emotions with this place," said John Tsahiridis, general manager of Galloway Station. The restaurant is nestled down in Galloway.  Things are much quieter here since the old days, when Lone Pine Ave. out front served as Highway 65. Businesses have tried banking on the serenity and quaintness...for some its worked. "It took us ten year to get where we are now," said Tsahiridis.

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. - A community near the Lake of the Ozarks is gearing up for the opening of a new shopping center -- and it's bringing some national retailers to town. On Wednesday morning, Dierberg's will open its new shopping center. They're holding a ribbon cutting ceremony just before the doors open at 9 a.m. The mayor and other city officials will be there to celebrate the grand opening of several stores. The 77,000-square foot grocery store will include a JJ Twig's bar and restaurant, as well a UPS Store.

New restaurant regulations that were supposed to require chains with more than 20 locations to list calorie counts on their menus are stalled. But many restaurants have already started disclosing that information anyway. Consumer Reports wanted to see whether restaurant-goers are getting a good count.   Consumer Reports chose 17 menu offerings at a dozen casual restaurants and fast-food chains and compared their nutritional claims with reality. They included restaurants such as IHOP, Red Lobster, Cheese Cake Factory, and McDonald's.

WASHINGTON, D.C.  -- Tyson Foods recalled approximately 127,000 pounds of uncooked breaded chicken tenderloins and uncooked chicken tenderloin fritter products because of an undeclared allergen and misbranding.  The product contains soy, a known allergen not declared on the label.     The following products are subject to recall: • 20-pound packages of “SPARE TIME Uncooked Chicken Tenderloin Fritters” bearing the establishment number...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A lawsuit has been filed over a deadly natural gas explosion that dstroyed a Kansas City restaurant.   The Kansas City Star reports that the suit was filed Friday in Jackson County Circuit Court on behalf of six employees of JJ's restaurant. They were among more a dozen people injured in the Feb. 19 explosion that also killed a restaurant server.   Defendants include Missouri Gas Energy, a utility locating service, Time Warner Cable and its subcontractor, Olathe-based Heartland Midwest.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Friends and family of a woman killed in last month's explosion at a Kansas City restaurant will honor her today with a memorial service. Megan Cramer was a server at JJ's Restaurant. She died as a result of an explosion that injured at least 15 others. The memorial for Cramer, a Parkview High School graduate, will take place at 1 p.m. at National Avenue Christian Church in Springfield. Another memorial for Cramer took place earlier this week in Kansas City.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Hiding under a sport-utility vehicle in a parking lot of a north Springfield restaurant didn't pay off for a man accused of theft and fighting with associates from a nearby store. Police say Shane E. McReynolds, 32, tried to steal an all-in-one computer from the Walmart at North Glenstone Avenue and East Kearney Street on Saturday. Loss prevention officers from the store told police McReynolds watched employees, looked around and took the computer from a shelf. The two officers followed McReynolds to an exit, where they walked in front of him and confronted him. According to a probable cause statement, McReynolds dropped the computer and tried to run around one of the employees.

BRANSON, Mo. -- A year after the Leap Day tornado, workers were cleaning up this week at Charlie's Steak Ribs and Ale on the Missouri 76 strip.  They were putting finishing touches on a new building. "It's exciting, it's really exciting," said manager Mark Turner, "because I'm in the same position I was a year ago. " On Feb. 28, 2012, Turner was sorting through applications for his summer staff, planning to hire more people than ever for what was supposed to be a busy summer season.