A Late Breakfast in Concordia Missouri

We finished our family visit in Omaha and headed out for St. Louis, where most of Laurie’s immediate family lives… As usual, we skipped breakfast so that I’d be alert for the drive.  When it came time for lunch, we passed Kansas City and we were cruising along I-70.  We started looking on-line for ideas in some of the small towns along the route…

Recommendations on a couple different websites led us to jump off the Interstate at Exit 58 onto MO Hwy. 23 and into Concordia Missouri.  This is Topsy’s Restaurant.  We love local restaurants or diners in small towns!  It’s always fun to visit them because they are frequently the meeting place for the locals and folks are always friendly…even if the food is sometimes just OK.

This restaurant is referred to as Topsy’s 1912…because that’s when it was founded…104 years ago!  That’s some longevity for any business, much less a restaurant.  Note that the guest ‘book’ is a map covered with stars from all around the USA and beyond…

The restaurant was founded by H. Oetting and he named it from the nickname he’d been given.  Back in the early 20^th century companies would come through town and put on plays and shows.  Local talents were frequently employed and Mr. Oetting had been chosen to play a part as a young boy named Topsy.  The name stuck with him and it’s stuck with the restaurant as well.

The interior of Topsy’s is pure local small town café.  There are plaques, photos, patriotic symbols, the US flag, etc. decorating the walls.  Our waitress was very friendly and helpful and the restaurant was clean…

The town of Concordia was established and named by German immigrants in 1860.  They called it Concordia, meaning 'harmony.'  The town has a population of about 2,400 residents.  Concordia is home to St. Paul Lutheran High School, the only residential high school affiliated with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in the United States.

We were delighted to discover that we could order breakfast anytime… Since that’s our favorite meal, we both jumped at the chance!  I ordered the Country Farm Breakfast…3 eggs, hash browns, 3 sausage patties and toast…for only $8.99.  As you can see the sausage patties were flavor-packed and huge.  The over-easy eggs were cooked perfectly!  It was an excellent basic breakfast...and they had Tabasco sauce...

I must admit that I was a bit tempted to order Topsy’s Jalapeno Burger…a 4 oz. burger patty topped with 4 oz. of brisket and pepper jack cheese on a Kaiser bun!  It comes with French fries or potato tots for $9.99.

Laurie also ordered the Country Farm Breakfast.  She accompanied her eggs with 3 strips of bacon.  Her hash browns were crispy as ordered and the bacon was excellent!

Topsy’s dinner menu includes a choice of 2 sides.  I’d have a tough time choosing between the Tenderloin Dinner ($11.99), the Chicken Fried Steak ($12.99) or the Fried Chicken Dinner. (4 pieces $11.99)

Since we travel back and forth between Omaha and St. Louis about twice a year, we will make it a point to stop at Topsy’s for lunch or dinner on our next trip! 

Topsy’s Restaurant is open Monday – Thursday from 6 AM to 2 PM, Friday and Saturday from 6 AM to 9 PM, and Sunday from 9 AM to 2 PM.  Topsy’s is located at 715 South Main Street in Concordia Missouri.  Phone: 660-463-1316.  As far as I could tell, they are not on Facebook nor do they have a website. 

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for breakfast!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave