Young girl in a white dress sits at a cafe table beside a large sign reading 'I EAT YATES CHILLI DO YOU?' (Missouri, 1909).
Yates Chili Parlor was located at 209 Allen St. (Main Street), Webb City. Proprietors were B.H. and Sallie Yates. We believe the child in this photo is their daughter Daisy. Note the wall calendar date, March 1909. – Photo courtesy of Kathy Sidenstricker.

From the 3rd floor
of the Webb City Public Library

Old News

Chili has been a favorite in Webb City for a long time

Webb City Area Genealogical Society

Even in summer, a good bowl of hot chili is an old-fashioned dish that we, as well as our forebears, turned to for a nourishing wintertime meal.

Like all towns, old Webb City had a wide variety of eating establishments. The offered fare ranged from steak and oysters served in the elegant downtown hotel dining rooms to a simple bowl of chili, with a slice of pie, served in a tiny wooden shack. Chili was an easy-to-prepare, inexpensive menu staple that restaurateurs could regularly prepare and keep on hand. Our photos of two early Webb City chili parlors illustrate the long history and popularity of chili; that simple, universal dish.

Three people stand outside a weathered wooden snack shop with chalked signs reading 'Chilli Pie' and 'Chilli' in a historical black-and-white photo.
This c. 1900 photo of a simple chili parlor was marked “photo from the Webb City mining camp area.” Evidently, the purpose of the business was to offer a quick and inexpensive mean to the local miners. The three people are unidentified, as is the exact location of the building. The restaurant’s windows advertise only “Chilli and Pie” and “Candies and Nuts.” – Photo courtesy of Kathy Sidenstricker.

Webb City Area Genealogical Society

WCAGS members staff the Genealogy Room on the third floor of the Webb City Public Library. Current hours are noon to 4 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. Meetings are held at 6 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month in the Genealogy Room.

Everything you want to know about Jasper County Missouri Schools is available at a site compiled by Webb City Area Genealogical Society member Kathy Sidenstricker.

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