Editor’s note: In an effort to support local businesses that are being threatened by the devastating effects of the coronavirus, The Athletic is publishing an ongoing series of stories to highlight our treasured communities. #supportlocal
COLUMBIA, Mo. — A man in a gray jacket walked briskly across the Broadway Diner parking lot Thursday morning, straight to the service window. A chain blocked the concrete steps leading to the front door. Through the tinted windows, the tables looked lonely without menus. All 10 counter stools stood empty.
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The grill, on the other hand, was still firing, operated by owner Dave Johnson. Within five minutes of approaching the service window, the man walked away with a cheese and egg burrito, served in a plastic foam to-go box.
He didn’t have to pay.
“Being in need is completely new to so many of these people that we’re seeing,” Johnson said. “I grew up just dirt, dirt, dirt poor, and I know the pride that a lot of those folks have.”
Since March 19, Broadway Diner, a Columbia staple near Missouri’s campus, has served more than 1,000 free meals. Johnson launched the initiative when Columbia Public Schools, which usually helps feed students in need, stopped in-person classes because of the spread of COVID-19. Though Johnson has a few volunteers, no paid employees are currently working at the Diner.
“I’m used to working seven days (a week),” the 53-year-old owner said. “These kids are going to be hungry every day, so I feel like if I can get up and go to work and feed some kid, I’m going to as long as I’m able to.”
“What you are doing for the kids is beautiful,” one parent commented on the Diner Facebook page, where Johsnon posts what he’ll be serving for free meals. “You have no idea how much weight you’ve lifted off my shoulders by feeding my daughters and their cousins.”
Friends, y’all make me very proud of our community. You’ve about blown up my phone today, with questions and offers to assist. If you feel so compelled, drop a check in the mail – 22 S 4th Street. CoMo. – or if you’re willing to drive & know of a hungry child, we can deliver. https://t.co/H5tDN4iMvW
— Broadway Diner (@dinerevolution) March 19, 2020
Other local eateries are also helping residents in need, and Columbia Public Schools is offering grab-and-go meals at bus stops. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Columbia said it’s pushing out 300 dinners or snacks to kids every day. Pizza Tree is donating food to health care workers and other front-line staffers, and Veterans United created an interactive map to show where hungry people can go for food.
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“We’re seeing a lot of folks that, until three weeks ago, were living a really comfortable lifestyle with well-paying jobs,” Johnson said. “And those don’t exist anymore.”
Broadway Diner, which opened in 1939 as the Minute Inn, moved to its current location on Fourth Street in 2001. Known for its breakfast food, the menu’s most popular item is The Stretch: a plate of hash browns, scrambled eggs, chili, cheese, peppers and onions. During normal times, the seven red-cushioned booths fill up on weekends, with the line of waiting customers occasionally snaking out the door and into the parking lot.
The Diner is also a favorite of Mizzou Athletics staffers. Volleyball coach Josh Taylor takes recruits to Broadway for meals on official visits, and softball players frequent the restaurant before games. Johnson, a huge softball fan, finds ways to decorate players’ orders with their jersey numbers. Larissa Anderson, the team’s coach, recently sent him a donation via Venmo to support his efforts to feed the community.
“I know a lot of schools provide those resources to families who aren’t as fortunate,” she said. “I saw he was just doing it day after day, and so I reached out to Dave and wanted to know how I could help his cause.”
“He goes down as a hero in the era of COVID-19 in my book,” added Taylor, whose go-to order is an omelet, side of hash browns and The Stretch.
Johnson never expected his offer of free meals — which is open to anyone in need, not just students — would catch on as much as it has, and he said the community has offered support so he can keep it going. Bartholomew Beef donated 500 pounds of meat, Happy Hollow Farm gave organic vegetables, and the Diner’s landlord has been flexible with rent payments. Johnson has also received mail-in donations, including some from Missouri students he hasn’t spoken to in decades.
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“I’m really honored by the trust the community has placed in us to do that,” he said. “I’m not trying to keep the business afloat by doing this. I’m just putting that towards the cost of the meals.”
Around 75 people a day are coming to Broadway for free meals, Johnson said, and he’s served up to 98. In recent days he’s handed out pancakes, hash brown casserole and chicken strips with rice and vegetables.
“If I’m going to go down, I’m going to feed as many folks as I can, too,” he said.
Both Johnson and his Diner volunteers wear face masks while working, and they encourage others who pick up food to do the same. The Diner also asks that people call before heading over so they know how much food to get ready.
Throughout the process of giving out meals, Johnson has had a number of eye-opening interactions. One woman, a hotel event coordinator who lost her job as tourism tanked, came by to pick up food for her four kids, all of whom are younger than 10.
“It seems like every day we get a phone call from a mom that you wouldn’t expect to need it,” the owner said. “The face of need is changing.”
Johnson, whose parents bought the Diner in 1989, said he’s in the process of setting up a nonprofit; he wants to continue feeding kids in need, even after the COVID-19 pandemic “is nothing but a sad memory.”
The service window, where the Diner passes out its free meals and pickup orders, has a troubling history. During segregation, black customers had to pick up orders at the window and could not sit inside.
Johnson is pleased that his current work through the window is now for the good of the community.
“I don’t want (its history) to ever be forgotten,” he said. “But I think it’s changed now.”
Taylor recently stopped by Broadway with his wife, Molly Taylor (formerly Kreklow), an assistant coach and former star player with the Tigers. He walked up to the window around brunch time, calling out to Johnson, who was working inside.
“Dave, how’re we doing?” he asked.
‘We’re doing great, Coach!” Johnson called back.
But the owner, who normally stops and chats with Taylor, couldn’t talk as long as usual. He had to get back to the grill; it was time to prepare for the lunchtime wave of kids.
(Photo: Peter Baugh / The Athletic)
