The century-old Shirley’s Tavern in Carterville, Missouri, that was gutted by fire more than a year ago will reopen Friday under new ownership.
According to the Joplin Globe, new owners Courtney and Brock Powell spent seven months reconstructing the tavern after the fire in December 2017.
“I was pretty devastated after the fire because there were lots of memories in this bar for me and my family, friends,” Courtney Powell said.
The 2017 incident marks the third fire at the establishment, according to previous owner Ashley Wise. The fire was ruled accidental by officials, and Wise said they initially planned on rebuilding but decided to focus more on family.
The Powells purchased the business in July 2018 with hopes of restoring it to its original glory.
“It was a total loss in there,” Courtney Powell said. “When we took on the project after we bought it, we were told that we might have to take it down, but it was a risk we were willing to take. The structure of it was decent, but when we got it all gutted down to the studs, we had to rebuild things like the entire back wall.”
They own Powells’ Construction and Flooring in Carterville, so they were able to do much of the renovations themselves. They salvaged the original bar and will have a wall of memorabilia saved from the fire.
The tavern at 321 W. Main St. dates to 1916 — a decade before the street that runs by its door became U.S. 66. It also was named Frosty’s and Budweise Bar during its history.
The ribbon-cutting will be at noon Friday. The Powells elected to keep the Shirley’s Tavern name for old time’s sake. Shirley Almandinger of Carterville opened the saloon under her name in 1983.
Except for tacos at the grand opening, the Powells won’t dish out food until football season but will serve beer, wine and malts during the interim. More may be found at the tavern’s Facebook page.
(New logo of Shirley’s Tavern in Carterville, Missouri, via Facebook)