McCormick’s Steakhouse: DnR celebrate a decade of ownership

KENNETT, Mo. - It would surprise most folks here to think visitors might have passed by this Southeast Missouri landmark without stopping for a delicious, homestyle meal.

It would surprise no one here to think that’s absolutely impossible.

This Kennett eatery became a destination for folks in the Bootheel soon after the breakfast-all-day restaurant opened its doors under Jerry “Pokey” McCormick’s and LC Cuff’s ownership as Cuff and McCormick’s Steakhouse in the mid 1980s, its most recent owners noted.

It’s safe to say it’s still a gathering place for both visitors and regulars.

And most all of them know those two most recent owners, who purchased the restaurant from Pokey a decade ago, and who are celebrating that 10-years-in-business mark the only way they know how – flavoring some of the area’s most favorite meals with humility, love and appreciation.

Because they spent a good portion of their young-adult years behind stoves and ovens in the kitchen, or waiting tables and bussing dishes in the dining rooms, both Kennett native Debbie Reeves and Rector’s Rita Beck, who lives at Nimmons, understand that paying it forward is as important as paying it back.

Despite a pandemic that resulted in so many unwanted closures for so many privately-owned restaurants, the re-named DnR’s McCormick’s Steakhouse said determination and community saved the Bootheel icon from the financial ravages of COVID and the food-service scrap heap.

And the expansive, down-home diner is more of a friendly invite to ma’s kitchen table than it is a lonely counter.

Seated at the table that sees the most action daily from regular coffee drinkers, the pair gain a second wind from serving the morning’s rush.

They chat and sip hot java to the familiar clinks of cups and saucers clashing while diners wander happily among their own relatives, today a four-year-old grandson toting an armload of plastic dinosaurs.

Aromas of hot coffee and southern-style, Ozark folkways cooking perfume the air.

“Pokey and LC Cuff bought it in the ‘80’s,” Reeves said of the restaurant.

Not exactly sure of when she started there, but positive that McCormick headhunted her and hustled her away from a competitor, Reeves counts the years in terms of her daughter’s age.

“My Meghan was a year-and-a-half,” she counts on her fingers. “And she’s 37 now ...”

Beck laughs.

“We’ve been friends for going on 40 years,” she said through a stifled giggle. “We have lots of memories, if we could remember them all.”

Indeed.

The pair have shared ups and downs.

And they understand the restaurant racket inside and out.

From the inside and out.

“Pokey talked me in to it,” Reeves said of buying the establishment. “And we did it mainly because we didn’t want the restaurant to close.”

“We wanted it to stay open,” Beck chimed in.

“There are a lot of people who needs this restaurant for jobs,” Reeves explained. “And the community … if we closed down they would starve.”

“They wouldn’t have anywhere to eat,” Beck joked.

That laugh of hers ...

“See that little old man over there?” she asked pointing to an older gentleman who asked about the buffet hours. Somehow 10:30 a.m. seems a bit early for diving into a buffet filled with hearty items. “This is his third time here,” she continued. “He drives all the way from Doniphan to eat our catfish.”

Beck turns and points to the couple dining quietly and conversing softly sitting at a table marked “Reserved.”

“They eat here every day,” Reeves said. “Every day.”

If Reeves and Beck are the heart of the place and their staff of 18 are the body, that kind of down-home banter is the soul.

From 4:30 a.m. to mid afternoon darn near daily the two prepare for and participate in a grind that must be tempered with patience.

After their self-imposed shifts, the duo leaves the restaurant to their most trusted staff, including Reeves husband, Johnny.

“We could not do this without him,” she said. “He’s in charge of all the honey-do’s.”

“If he can’t fix it, it can’t be fixed,” Beck agreed. “If he’s not working on something he’s running the cash register and greeting people.”

Their deal to work together was born of necessity. Johnny and Debbie Reeves were passing one another like ships in the night and realized they must work together or continue spending time apart.

That wouldn’t work.

This does. What might seem like controlled chaos to some is standard operating procedure for them.

“I love every minute of it,” Beck said. “Unless people don’t show up.

“That cooks me,” she added. “It just does.”

That’s not often the case.

“We’ve been here 10 years,” Reeves said. “I’m 65 and she’s 66.

“We don’t know what the next 10 years hold for us,” she continued. “It really depends on the community.

“The community has been here for us for the last 10 years,” Reeves said. “If they still want us, we’ll be here for them.”

A promise made is a promise kept. Hopefully, dedication and community will continue and DnR’s McCormick’s Steakhouse will remain a Kennett icon for years to come.

DnR’s McCormick’s Steakhouse at 305 Independence St., and its owners are ready to serve.

Daily specials for the month of September are listed on its Facebook page.