Dorchester Times: FLASHBACK: Joe's Place Became City Slickers Three Years Ago

Sunday, February 21, 2016

FLASHBACK: Joe's Place Became City Slickers Three Years Ago

(Note: This article ran at the Times in early April 2013.)

Back in 2009, Dorchester residents and natives -- even this blog's staffers -- were ecstatic about the return of Joe's Place Bar and Grill.

In the years that have followed, Joe's Place owners Rob Parks and Sherri Jones-Parks, along with their staff, have done a fantastic with the place.

In late 2009, Jones-Parks said: "Our goal is to honor Joe (Ladman) himself by turning the bar into the hometown, friendly place where everyone knows your name, just like it was when he owned and operated it."

Joe's has been that place for our community for decades.

Unfortunately, the Times has learned from a couple of sources that Joe's Place may be, or already has been, sold.

One of the sources say a potential buyer is from Lincoln. This information has not been confirmed with the Parks family.

Developing...

8 comments:

AnonymousApril 3, 2013 at 5:13 PM
Then why post it if you are not sure.. That is how rumors get started and you know how dorchester feed of that.
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AnonymousApril 4, 2013 at 1:31 AM
I would say it is a "done" deal. The new owners have been there on site and are not shy about letting everyone know they purchased it. I think they are very nice people and a breath of fresh air for the community. I really hope they can make a go of it and help this town grow.
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AnonymousApril 4, 2013 at 4:23 PM
Times change, folks. Deal with reality or reality will deal with you ... harshly. 95% of people don't drink like people did 30 or 20 years ago, when there was a full bar in Joes Place. People also eat healthier. If you want a community gathering spot that appeals that 95%, you need to change things. Hope the new owners think outside the box. Dorchester residents today aren't the same as those of the 1960s.
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AnonymousApril 5, 2013 at 11:34 PM
Dear mister or misses 95% of people don't drink in Joes Place anymore . Joes Place is and will remain the #1 off premis account outside of the city limits of Lincoln. It was up 11% over last years sales in Budweiser products alone. So you must be one of the fine patrons of coffee in the a.m. . And they could of fixed you a salad for something healthy when you got done working out .Ask your local farmers if they want a salad or meat and potatoes for chow . I guess there are only 5% of them left to ask .
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AnonymousApril 17, 2013 at 4:36 PM
I heard the new owners are going to serve chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast every morning. I LOVE PANCAKES. Nom Nom Nom Nom!
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AnonymousApril 22, 2013 at 2:10 PM
There is now a "Fish Fry Friday!" Fish and chips served all day every Friday..... with cole slaw and hushpuppies too! Delicious!!!!
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AnonymousFebruary 22, 2016 at 12:05 PM
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED FOR THE REOPENING OF CITY SLICKERS >>>>>
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Dorchester: A Good Little Family Town

Dorchester, Nebraska (est. population 630) is located in northern Saline county. Close in proximity to Interstate 80, Dorchester is only 25 minutes from the state capital of Lincoln (est. population 250,000) and about 55 minutes from Omaha (metro population 725,000).

Dorchester's median resident age is 37 years. In 2005, Dorchester had a median family income of approximately $35,600. The median house value was about $63,000. About 95 percent of Dorchester residents commute to work via Interstate and highways.

The village has a quality public school, which received a $4.1 million expansion and modernization in 2008; it offers a small classrooms and individualized attention. Total enrollment of grades K-12 is around 230-250 students.

Ancestries of the Dorchester area are primarily German (42.4%), Czech (24.9%), Irish (12.5%), English (5.4%), and Dutch (4.9%).

Dorchester Historical Facts

* On July 4, 1871, the railroad reached Dorchester.
* Incorporated in 1881, Dorchester's population grew from 200 to 500 by 1882.
* In 1882, Dorchester had 90 buildings, 35 of which were businesses or public facilities. Brick buildings lined both sides of Washington Avenue for two blocks.
* Dorchester's longest-running newspaper was The Dorchester Star, which was published until the late 1940s.
* By 1889, Dorchester's population is said to have reached 800, while the town housed an opera house, a two-story brick schoolhouse with a bell tower, and four churches.
* By the 1910s, Dorchester had electricity, a water tower and a fire department.
* Dorchester's main arteries, Highways 6 and 33, were graveled in the 1940s.
* Dorchester's first irrigation well was drilled on Chris Weber's farm and rural electrification was finished following WWII.

A Village with History

Dorchester is one of the "alphabet towns" on the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad line built west from Lincoln. The town site was selected for its pleasant location in the northern part of Saline County, about eight miles west of Crete. This situation is an attractive one, being on the level prairie land, midway between the West Blue River and Turkey Creek. The first named stream is three miles north, and the latter about the same distance south from the town. Dorchester was platted in 1870 and incorporated in 1881. The name "Dorchester" came from either for a suburb of Boston by that name or a town in England. No one is sure. Two of the very first settlers were James Seely and Edward McIntyre, who both made Dorchester their permanent home.

Dorchester: In The Beginning

Here is a look at Dorchester around 1890, less than a decade after its official incorporation, as documented by Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska:
* POPULATION: "About 300, and is made up of a substantial and progressive class of citizens, who are moral and industrious. ... The town grew but very little until the year 1879, for the reason that Pleasant Hill, on Turkey Creek, a short distance south, was the county seat and naturally drew a trade for quite a large scope of country."
* BUSINESS: "The business and professional interests of the town are represented by three general merchandise stores, two drug, one grocery, one furniture, two hardware, and two millinery stores, one bank, two restaurants, two hotels, three livery stables, a post office, one newspaper office, two elevators, two lumber yards, two coal yards, two blacksmith shops, two lawyers and four physicians."
* SCHOOL: "The schoolhouse is a good one. The schoolhouse was built in 1872, since which time the public schools have been continually kept up. The present schoolhouse is 24' x 40' in size, two stories high. The school is graded and consists of three departments. The house is found too small, and arrangements will soon be made to increase its size."
* CHURCHES: "There are three substantial churches."
* HOMES: "The residence portion of the village is made up of neat houses of different styles of architecture, but none of them very large."
* NEWSPAPER: "The Dorchester Star, which was established August 21, 1881, by H. C. Bittenbender, who edited it until January 19, 1882, when he sold it to Ryerson & Bullock, the present proprietors. The Star is a bright weekly paper, five-column quarto, in size, and is Republican in politics."