The Dockside Pub & Grub in Rockaway Beach MO!

Rockaway Beach MO. - After hearing that a good friend of mine had just started working at the Dockside Pub & Grub located in the center of Rockaway Beach at 2718 State Hwy 176, I decided to stop in and check the place out. (After all, it had been a number of years since I'd last been in the area). And, back then, the venue had a less than savory reputation... Well, that's changed big time!

Ever since August of this year, it has been under the new ownership. Fred Hoffman, a local entrepreneur has assumed control, and I had to admit I was rather impressed when I entered the establishment and ordered a beer. Clean, warm and friendly were my very first impressions! My friend Brandy was also working that afternoon along with another professional named Brenda. The establishment, (which can seat about 80 customers), was well appointed with a well laid out arrangement of bar stools and tables where hungry customers could enjoy a variety of prepared foods (including a signature 1/3 pound hamburger and French fries)! There were also two pool tables, a jukebox and a stage with a dance floor. Very cool indeed!

Menu as of Oct 2017!

Brenda filled me in on a few of the almost daily happenings that included Friday ladies night, upcoming pumpkin carving contest and a Halloween contest that offers cash money to the top costume. I had the impression that this was really nice venue that was well run and would be a good hangout for anyone at any time. I was also told that the Rockaway police looked kindly towards it patrons as long as they behaved in a responsible manner and obeyed all traffic laws. Well, perhaps things are changing for the better in Rockaway Beach and we may have new owners like Mr. Hoffman to thank for that! Oh, and at Happy Hour - (2PM?) draft beer is only $1.75!

I plan to make the Dockside Pub & Grub a frequent destination!

A casino and ferry boat route for Rockaway Beach?

Forsyth MO - Back in June of 2016 I wrote a short piece on a pie in the sky ferry boat system for Taneycomo Lake. In the post, I had the idea of a three stop route that would help to renovate the failing economic futures of town like Rockaway Beach and Forsyth. And, while I received zero comments on the merits of the post or of the idea, a new development has arisen!

Recently, Don Smith the newly elected Mayor of Rockaway Beach appeared on a news program vowing to get an amendment on next year's ballot to allow a riverboat casino to operate in the town. This effort would be very similar to another attempt launched in 2004 that ultimately failed. The difference this time is the sad economy and many people's desire to see renewed economic prosperity where none currently exists!

Should this amendment get on the ballot and should it pass, that ferry boat concept I wrote about earlier would make a great deal of sense!

Was a gambling initative recently approved in Rockaway Beach MO?

Forsyth MO. – A call from a friend of mine in the morning hours of September 22, 2016 informed me, in a matter of fact tone, that the city of Rockaway Beach had just approved  or was in the process of approval of a riverboat gambling ordinance! (I asked as to his source and he told me. Something I've chosen not to to divulge at the time of this post). As it always is with such rumors, the details were rather sketchy. I had personally thought that it would take a statewide referendum and public vote to get this approved and even then you'd have to have some gambling coop involved to finance the whole deal (please excuse the pun)!

I made a call to RB's City Hall in an effort to either support this rumor or to squelch it with hard facts. After some delay,I was told that someone would call me right back..... no one ever did.

So as of now, the rumor stands, as there seems to be at least a little smoke rising slowly above that sleepy river front town.....

'Spreading rumors is like spreading fresh manure. While something may grow from it, you still have to endure that unpleasant odor.'

Fourth of July in Rockaway Beach!

Monday, July 4 - 'Come join Rockaway Beach for a day full of fun, food, crafts, games, dunk-a-cop, arm wrestling, and more! Be sure to come down early and bring your blanket or lawn chairs and enjoy a great night of fireworks! There will be a beverage garden, music, lawn mower parade, and car show and cruise open to all vehicles. No Entry Fee! Top 3 vehicle awards and a crowd’s choice award. The fireworks begin around dusk. This celebration is funded solely on donations from the community and visitors and continues to be one the largest and best in the area.'

The above text is a pretty good representation of the announcements I've seen in print as to the events planned for Rockaway Beach MO on the fourth of July. It's my plan, this year, to be there and to try and cover all the festivities. There are a few story lines there that I'd like to watch unfold and in no particular order, they are;

1. New Bar – The owner of the newly opened White River Sports Bar and Grill (formerly the Taneycomo Market) plans to have their freshly outfitted deck open to the public along with a live band. Update: The live band may be in doubt!
2. Dockside beverage garden – Another bar plans to have a 'beverage garden'. Just where exactly that will be and what form of 'beverages' will be served is unknown at this time.
3. Lawn mower parade – OK, I may just skip this event.
4. Fireworks – The word last year was that the fireworks were a bit 'disappointing'. It'll be interesting to see if there is any improvement in 2016.
5. Police check points – As a counter check to all the fun and frivolity will be intersections where the police will do their best end your 'fun day of Independence' on a sour note, while filling County and city coffers with much needed funds via tickets and citations.

In my mind I keep seeing a vision similar to the parade scene in Animal House, complete with slashing mower blades running amok in a crowd reminiscent of a another scene out of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest..... sounds like a riot to me!

Well, they have a deck anyway!

Rockaway Beach MO - After hearing a rumor that some sort of bar was going to open out behind the Taneycomo Market off Hwy 176 in Rockaway Beach, I drove down there to sneak a peek.

When I arrived there was all sort of lumber strew about the front of the establishment, but no one I could see was actually working. I came to find out the the carpenter that had been recently hired had also been fired! And, while there was a nice expansive deck situated behind the market, I could see little if anything else. No chairs, no tables... really, no nothing.

I inquired as to this state of affairs with one of the locals and was informed that things were pretty much at a standstill. Even the interior of the market itself looked partially gutted. I was told that there were problems with licenses and other paperwork (neither was substantiated) and that the owners were looking for a new carpenter.

Here's hoping to an eventual grand opening and I personally hope they have an open air bar and eatery as those types of establishments are pretty much non existent in my neck of the woods. And, while I may not know very much, I do know that this deck needs to be stained and treated pretty darn soon! Otherwise it might be a bit warped...

June 1, 2016 Update

I drove by this now closed gas station only to learn that they plan to reopen soon as a bar! Other rumors were that another gas station located just to the north in  Merriam Woods was also shuttered.Also, I have no information on when this new drinking emporium will open or even what it will be called, as the owners who have my email have failed to contact me....

Rockaway Boat races a bust early on!

The temperatures were in the 80's – check. Partly cloudy skies abounded with light winds – check! Hydroplanes were on the lake with crowds gathering - double check! Yes, it was almost a picture perfect day!

You'd think with a start like that, everyone would have a great opportunity to see some exciting racing action as groups of hydroplanes thundered around Taneycomo lake speeds in excess of 80 miles an hour! But, sadly that didn't take place. (At least it didn't take place when it was supposed to). And just why was that?

Apparently the one ambulance that was on duty that day, got busy! It was late to show up and when it finally did, was called out on numerous back to back calls... and so the boats just sat there and the crowds never materialized..... As someone once said long ago – this was no way to run a railroad.

Well, there's always Sunday - maybe they will get their act together!