Rural Missouri - November 2021 - 35

Pearl Harbor's Ultimate Hawaiian Chicken piles ham, jalapeno popper dip, two grilled pineapple rings and sweet chile sauce on a spicy chicken breast.
Ozark diner pays tribute to American heroes
by Zach Smith | zsmith@ruralmissouri.coop
ou can tell there's something different about Cafe
B-29 before you walk in the door. It's not every
restaurant where ammo boes double as flower
planters, helmets are refashioned as booth lights
and one of two 6-foot-tall cluster bombs serve as a guest
book. But the military furnishings and menu names are
more than simply decoration and theme. For owners Chaz
oeppen, fiancee, att ann, and daughter, amantha
Johns, it was important not just to serve their community
good food, but also show appreciation for those who serve.
" We celebrate the American spirit because the people
who join our military services are the heart and soul of this
country, " Chaz says. " They're the ones who make it great. "
And they give us the chance to open a cafe, " adds att.
" Without many freedoms we wouldn't be able to do this,
and it was important for us to show that. "
Opening the restaurant may have been the family's
dream, but its success is a story of the community's
support for their service members. When Cafe B-29 -
named after the - uperfortress aircraft  opened in
2017, the owners decorated the walls with a few shadow
boes of family military memorabilia and photos. oon,
locals began bringing in their own photos of family
members who had served, newspaper clippings, pieces of
B-29s and even uniforms to adorn the walls. Frequently,
they'd also bring a veteran family member in tow. Chaz
and the waitstaff crew, decked out in period uniform,
Y
make it a point to announce diners who are World War II
veterans who always receive a standing ovation and rarely
have to pay for a meal. About 70 WWII vets have visited
the cafe over the years and many of them have become
weekly regulars. ther freuent visitors include first
responders and law enforcement officers.
Binding together the community that's sprung up
around the restaurant is a menu rooted in 1940s, allAmerican
diner food with some inspiration from family
recipes, such as Chaz's grandmother's bread pudding on
the dessert menu or att's mother's alapeno popper dip,
which shows up frequently on the menu.
" We wanted what people were comfortable ordering, but
knew it would be important to make signature dishes, "
att says. e wanted to put our own stamp on it. "
It doesn't get much more all-American than burgers,
and Cafe B-29 has six options including the classic
toppings on a half-pound Bumstead's Burger Basket to
the B-29 Brat Burger, which features a bratwurst patty
infused with bacon and pepper jack cheese. The local favorite
is the Jalapeno Popper Burger featuring pepper jack
cheese, two slices of smoked bacon and a grilled scoop of
the jalapeno popper dip on a half-pound of hand-pattied
ground beef. earl arbor's ltimate hicken andwich
ups the heat and the sweet found in the burger with a
spicy and lightly breaded chicken breast topped with
grilled smoked ham and the dip. To this are added two caramelized
pineapple rings and a sweet chile sauce, known
as Rosie sauce after Rosie the Riveter.
NOVEMBER 2021 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP 35

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Rural Missouri - November 2021

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