Cape Girardeau restaurant institution Hamburger Express to close this weekend

Marilyn Gilmore remembers vividly when she and husband Joe Gilmore Jr. opened Hamburger Express 35 years ago.

"On Sept. 14, 1988, [President] Ronald Reagan came to Cape Girardeau [and] that's the very month we opened," Marilyn said. "The president's motorcade drove right by Hamburger Express and Mr. Reagan saw Joe, and the president waved to him."

The Gilmores have situated the business at the same location at 902 William St. ever since.

The drive-through eatery, which employs six people, has continued through the tenures of seven U.S. presidents. Joe Biden will be the last as the Gilmores plan to shut down the roadside burger joint for good at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4.

"We can't keep up with food costs and labor shortages," said Joe, whose son, Joe Gilmore III, is operationally in charge of Hamburger Express while Mom and Dad handle bookkeeping and maintenance work, respectively.

"We chose that part of William Street downtown to be of service to the area," said the elder Joe Gilmore, 79.

"The taxes eat you up," added Marilyn Gilmore, who noted small children especially have enjoyed Hamburger Express over the years.

"Little kids, especially in the summer, would come down to us and just get ice cream, and that's going to be gone for them," said Marilyn, 70, who added it was "time to retire."

What's next

The Gilmores have listed their 0.61 acre lot for sale with an asking price of $389,900.

The building and equipment are available to be purchased separately, they said.

"Maybe somebody else will put something in there that's similar to what we've done," Marilyn Gilmore said.

Like some other restaurant operators in the aftermath of COVID, Hamburger Express cut its hours because of lack of available staffing ,and starting in 2021 was no longer open Sundays.