When your mouth is watering for a nice, juicy steak where do you go? The Hoof and Horn Steakhouse in St. Joseph, MO is known for its local flavor and serving up one of the best steaks ever! Operating as one of St. Joseph's oldest restaurants on the old Stockyards grounds, serving excellent hand-cut aged beef and homemade specialties, I can't imagine any other place to go.
The Old Hoof and Horn was built in 1898, the same year as the Stockyard Exchange Building. The building originally began as a saloon and brothel. In 1907 a retired policeman bought the building and turned it into a café. It has since them carried on as a restaurant. Jack and Rosie Miller purchased the building in 1963 serving up steaks that were butchered and aged right on-site. They started a nice tradition in the building and were dedicated to their quality and consistency gaining a great reputation. In 1986, Roy Swope took over the business carrying on that same service. Roy and family are still the current owners serving St. Joseph, giving customers a great dining pleasure.
In 1990 the Hoof and Horn was the first restaurant to receive the MO Beef Backer Award. In 2002 the Hoof and horn was inducted into the MO Beef Hall of Fame.
In 2007, the Hoof and Horn was destroyed by fire. However the building was reincarnated and re-opened in 2009. Not everything was ruined by the fire, today some pictures and artifacts are displayed on the wall that were original pieces of the building. The same cooks and crews are back on staff and are glad to be there. They were able to reopen after a great deal of community support and donations.
Although there has been change in ownership over the years, renovations, and menu changes a few have remained the same. The location, history and quality...each visit is an experience in itself. It would be amazing if walls could talk to tell the stories of the past 112 years.
Dee and Roy Swope not only spend time cooking and waiting tables with their 5 children who all also work there, but they consider all of the employees family. They are all very close knit and have been a family for over a decade. Even though they have all been through hard times, the fire being the hardest of all, they have all stuck together like family does.
The Hoof and Horn crew is very involved in the community. They have adopted the Noyes Home as their ‘charity'. Each year the staff hosts a night that they all donate work for free and put all the proceeds into an ‘Activity Fund'. All funds raised are put towards outings that they take the children on through out the years such as trips to Worlds of Fun, Great Wolf Lodge, the Omaha Zoo, etc. They loved this idea knowing that they would be helping these kids all year long, not just for one specific holiday. They are giving these children experiences that they just simply wouldn't have otherwise. The staff gets more excited about it each year...it just feels good to give something.
The Hoof and Horn family is a prime example of your ‘local restaurant'. They aren't only here to benefit themselves but more than anything our community. Being the oldest restaurant in St. Joseph it carries on a great name for the city. Many visitors walk through the doors each year looking for that unique dining experience. And they have many visitors that have come back even 20+ years later remembering that ‘steakhouse on the stockyards'. Swope has many amazing stories to tell, and if you stop in to dine he will be glad to share them with you.
