 "Photo: Molly O'Connor")
In the second installment of The Volante's series on local nightlife, you will find short features on Toby's Lounge in Meckling, Wild Bill Cody's in Gayville, Whimps in Burbank and The Pit in Wakonda. Each of these unique restaurants has something distinctive to offer its customers.
Wild Bill Cody's
Although it has been known by several different names over the years, South Dakotans have been whetting their whistles at Wild Bill Cody's in Gayville since the 1870s.
Manager Al Harder says it's a combination of atmosphere and good food that keeps people coming back.
"Some people come here for the ambiance-the Wild West thing-mostly it's the food though," Harder said.
Harder, who has been in the restaurant business in various capacities for 20 years, took over the day-to-day operations of Wild Bill Cody's three years ago.
The restaurant was remodeled four years ago to increase the seating capacity in the dining room.
"Everything's been redone. It was pretty beat up to begin with," Harder said.
He added that since the renovation, business has increased as more tables were available.
Harder says the most popular item on
the menu is probably either the prime rib or the steak tips. The prime rib is his personal favorite as well.
The restaurant gets all of its pork and beef from local meat producers and they cut it all themselves.
"We bake our own bread. We cut our own meat. We try to make everything ourselves," Harder said.
Although it's a bit off the beaten path for USD students, Harder said the experience is well worth the trip.
"We're a quiet little place that a lot of people don't know about. But we're probably one of the friendliest places around," Harder said.
Whimps
When Leonard "Whimp" Girard bought a little bar in Burbank decades ago, he wanted it to have a personal touch. He decided he would share his nickname with it.
The bar is now owned by Jeff Radigan. Radigan has owned several restaurants and bars in his 40 years in the business and owns Main Street Pub in Vermillion in addition to Whimps. Radigan says Whimps is the easiest to run.
Radigan said USD students pack his restaurant every Thursday night for his all-you-can-eat spaghetti.
Radigan said his most popular menu item is his tenderloin steak which, like all of his steak, he cuts himself.
"That's why I have spaghetti night," Radigan said. "I end up with about 50 pounds of scrap and I grind it up and make meatballs out of it. That's why I sell it so cheap. It's a good deal for everybody. Those meatballs are pure steak."
Radigan bought Whimps in 1982 and turned it from "a bar with burners" into a restaurant.
"I made it into a steakhouse. It was more or less just a country bar before that," Radigan said.
The Pit
The regulars who frequent The Pit in Wakonda go back for the hometown atmosphere, but those who aren't from around the area usually go for one reason: to visit 'The Throne.'
'The Throne' is actually just a toilet raised on three stairs, but its reputation reaches people from all over, said Torrey Mullinix, who has owned The Pit with his wife for 23 years.
The story goes that in the 1940s, an elderly plumber had the unique idea to fix an overflowing toilet by raising it up raising it up several feet. Ever since then, there haven't been any problems, and The Pit has become a novelty stop for visitors in the area.
"Everyone likes to hear the story about it," Mullinix said. "We even sell t-shirts with the picture of 'The Throne' on the front."
The Pit, which is located in the basement of the historic Wakonda Hotel and Bar, was established in 1934, although the hotel itself was started in 1890. The bar offers 20 domestic bottles of beer and 10 imported brews, as well as on/off sale wine, beer and liquor.
They also serve homemade pizza on Tuesday nights, and offer a small menu throughout the week. The hometown bar's clientele consists mostly of farmers from around the area, but Mullinix said anybody could enjoy the atmosphere, regardless of age.
"People come for good food and a good time," he said.
Toby's Lounge
When you sit down for dinner at Toby's Lounge in Meckling, you won't get a menu. Anyone who's ever been there can tell you that your only choices are chicken, fish and shrimp.
The limited selection does not affect business, however. Toby's has had a steady set of regular customers since Clark "Toby" Larson opened the restaurant in 1971.
Shawna Taggart has worked at Toby's for five years and says it was Toby himself that kept customers coming back.
"Toby was what it was known for. A lot of people came to see Toby. He was just as much of an attraction as the food was," Taggart said.
Since his death a year ago, his granddaughter Brandi Wyatt has been carrying on the family tradition of friendly service and home-cooked food. Their most popular item is their chicken.
"It's a chicken shack," Wyatt said. "We have a lot of other things on the menu but we're known for our chicken."
Toby's doesn't advertise in newspapers or on the radio so anyone who hears about the restaurant hears about it by word-of-mouth, Taggart said.
"It's definitely not a chain restaurant," she said. "It's kind of old fashioned I guess. The thing that gets me is that it's very home-like."
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