The “Marceline, Missouri – Past and Present Progress and Prosperity – Souvenir book” that was reprinted in 1975, contains this article about the new Lunch Room next to the Santa Fe Depot in Marceline, MO:
Mrs. Mary Doyle’s Lunch Room – With a patronage coming from all classes of people from this city and vicinity and with a meritorious reputation gained through handling the best the market affords and catering to the public in a manner which has made permanent customers, the above named lunch room is operated by Mrs. Mary Doyle and is located on Kansas Avenue. This business was established in 1911, after she had successfully conducted a large boarding house for nine years.
Mrs. Doyle is the mother of one son, Frank, who is attending High School. Frank has been fatherless since he was 2 years of age. How successful she has been may be better understood when it is stated that she owns the building in which this restaurant is located, and a fine residence in this city. She has served the public faithfully and has proven a valuable asset to the community, both as a business lady of rare judgment and as a proprietress of an eating house where the best home cooked meals to be had are served. – “Marceline, Missouri – Past and Present Progress and Prosperity – Souvenir book”, Page 11, Reprinted 1975
A public Lunch Room had been located in the original wooden Marceline depot since 1908. When the new brick Depot was dedicated in 1913, local businessmen began to draw up plans for a new lunch room. This was not an easy proposition, as the Santa Fe Railroad owned the land that the building would occupy, and would lease the land to the lunch room owners. It was essential that the new lunch room be of similar design and quality as the new Depot. Once plans were drawn up, a Santa Fe architect was consulted. After a few months of discussions, drawings were approved and it was time to start building.
On August 15, 1913 a local newspaper announced that a contract had been awarded to build the new Lunch Room. It would be a one-story structure, and would be made of the same kind of brick but with stone trim being used instead of terracotta, as is on the new Depot. The building would be 28 feet by 36 feet in size.
The Marceline Lunch Room was furnished with modern counters, stools, booths, tables, and the best utensils and dishes. The food was good, well priced, and quick. There was a single cook and four waitresses serving customers – not just from the trains, but locals as well. It was a busy establishment until it closed in the late 1950s.