From the Morgue: Thad Stubbs calls it a career

For a business that operated in Cape Girardeau for 43 years -- on Broadway, no less -- there is very little in the files of the Southeast Missourian documenting Stubbs' Beer Garden.

Located on the north side of the 1700 block of Broadway, the business started out as a root beer stand and grew into a tavern that catered to factory workers.

When Thad Stubbs decided to to retire in 1974, the Missourian published an article that gives some good history of the business and the Stubbs family.

Published June 29, 1974, in the Southeast Missourian:

Firm to end service to town after 43 years

For 43 years now Cape Girardeans have traveled up and down Broadway, scarcely noticing the slate-gray building at the corner of Whitelaw. It reveals itself only by the beer sign hanging outside and by the gathering of working men's transportation wedged into the small gravel driveway.

Stubbs' Beer Garden is the name of the place, but to the people who go there it is known only as "Stubbs."

When owner Thad Stubbs closes the door tonight at 7, it will be for the last time. He has decided to end an operation he began July 1, 1931, with his father, W.H. Stubbs.

With the help of brothers Harry and Porter, they built a root beer stand on the site of an old tanning yard, running that until Prohibition was kicked in the shins two years later. From May of 1933 until today it has been Stubbs' Beer Garden, the longest continuous liquor license holder in the county.

Rationing

After the years of beer rationing during World War II, when they used to open at quitting time for the city's factories and sell out within a half hour, the Stubbs expanded the building to its present size. It's small enough to speak across the room without shouting, but there's always enough room for one more thirst. Mr. Stubbs is proud of the fact that the police have never set foot on his property, at least not on official business.

Mr. Stubbs has run the place on a 7:30 in the morning to 7 at night schedule since his father died 20 years ago. Harry, who died last year, helped out both brothers with their businesses. Porter sold his Pak-A-Snak grocery, which was located on Independence, a short time ago after 18 years there.

Not much change

Stubbs' Beer Garden hasn't undergone much physical change over the years. The spring, which he estimates produces over 400 gallons of water per hour, is still there in back, along with the large, well-kept vegetable garden. The creek which divides the property in half still trickles by, though a year ago it flooded, wiping out the goldfish pond. Years ago, people sipped beer on park benches under the shade trees. But lately, the business has been kept inside.

Why no more Stubbs'? He and his wife, Elizabeth, have two sons. John is head of the bio-chemistry department at San Francisco State College, and David is a surgeon doing his residency in Columbia, Missouri. "I'll soon be 68 years old," explained Mr. Stubbs, "and it's time to do some things with my family."

What will become of Stubbs'? Nothing. "I plan to keep the property for meetings and fish fries for my friends," says Mr. Stubbs. "There's just too much sentiment here for me to sell it."

Where will his customers go? "I don't know. I have some who have been with me for 40 years and some who are here waiting for me to open at 7:30 in the morning. They don't know what they're going to do," he said, smiling.

Read the rest of this blog at semissourian.com/blogs/fromthemorgue.

Sharon Sanders is the librarian at the Southeast Missourian.