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Coordinates:38°57′01″N92°19′39″W/ 38.95017°N 92.32741°W/38.95017; -92.32741
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Booches
Company typePrivate
IndustryRestaurant, retail
Founded1884;140 years ago(1884)
FounderPaul Blucher "Booch" Venable
Headquarters
Columbia, Missouri
,
United States
ProductsBar, restaurant, pool hall
A long view of four of the pool tables at booches, some covered, and one with two players having a game; fluorescent lights and scoring strings hang above the tables.
Pooltables at Booches

Boochesis abar,restaurant,andpool hallon 9th Street in downtownColumbia, Missouri,that was established in 1884. At over 140 years old, it is the oldest pool hall in Columbia. It is located near theUniversity of Missouriand has traditionally been frequented by college students. In 2016, Booches was inducted into the Boone County Hall of Fame at the Walters-Boone County Historical Museum.

Thehamburgersthat the restaurant produced were listed inUSA Todayas one of the best in the country in 2000. They were also praised by the publication again in 2005 and bySports Illustratedin 2019.

Overview

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Booches was established in 1884,[1][2][3]has had six locations in downtown Columbia. Since 1928 it has been on 18th and has been on Ninth Street.[4]It is the oldest pool hall in Columbia and has full-sizedpool,snooker,andthree cushion billiardstables.[2][5][6]Booches serves food, as it's hamburgers, which are served onwax paper,were listed in a 2000 report inUSA Todayas one of the best 25 in the United States.[10]In 2005, Jerry Shriver ofUSA Todayincluded Booches' hamburger on the list of top 25 dishes from his "Down-home Dining" project.[11]In 2019, Joan Niesen and Laken Litman ofSports Illustratednamed Booches' hamburgers as the "#1 Greatest College Town Eats" in the nation.[12]

Booches is named after its founder, Paul Blucher "Booch" Venable, who was nicknamed "Booch" as a child by writerEugene Field.[13][14]The restaurant has gone through many owners in its time, being a male-only establishment until the 1970s.[6][14]During the times ofracial segregation in the United States,the establishment would not serve African Americans.[15][16]

During the mid to late 1970s, the then-owners of Booches edited and published four issues of theReview la Booche,a nationally publishedliterary journal.[17][18]The journal featured poetry, prose, sketches, and photographs byJohn Ciardi,William Stafford,Elton Glaser,Frank Stack,andRichard Eberhart,along with local and regional contributors. The review was revived in 1990 for a fifth and final issue.[17]

Booches is located close to theUniversity of Missouri,[19]and it has traditionally been used by University of Missouri andSt. Louis Cardinalssports fans.[3][13][20][21]It has been described by some in contemporary times as adive barand amelting pot.[7][22]Booches was inducted into theBoone CountyHall of Fame at the Walters-Boone County Historical Museum in 2016.[23]

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Booches was included in the filmNorm,which aired on ESPN'sSEC Network.[24][25]Normdepicted the career of the former University of Missouri basketball coachNorm Stewart,who was a regular patron of the establishment.[24][25]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Staples, Andy (August 9, 2017)."Ranking America's best college town meals".Sports Illustrated.RetrievedNovember 7,2017.
  2. ^abJarzemsky, Matt (April 18, 2008)."Pool hall popularity change over generations".Columbia Business Times.Archived fromthe originalon November 8, 2017.RetrievedNovember 7,2017.
  3. ^abSimonds, D. (2004).Best Food in Town: The Restaurant Lover's Guide to Comfort Food in the Midwest.Clerisy Press. p. 128.ISBN978-1-57860-146-2.RetrievedNovember 7,2017.
  4. ^McKinney, Roger (October 14, 2016)."Karen Miller announces initiative to digitize Boone County historical photo negatives".Columbia Daily Tribune.RetrievedNovember 8,2017.
  5. ^abStern, J.; Stern, M. (2017).Roadfood, 10th Edition: An Eater's Guide to More Than 1,000 of the Best Local Hot Spots and Hidden Gems Across America.Potter/TenSpeed/Harmony. p. 296.ISBN978-0-451-49620-1.RetrievedNovember 7,2017.
  6. ^abcPham, Scott (November 30, 2012)."Booches' Famous Burgers Seek New Buns After Hostess Plant Closes".NPR.RetrievedNovember 7,2017.
  7. ^abMelville, Greg (May 10, 2012)."Where Can I Find America's Best Hamburgers?".Outside.RetrievedNovember 8,2017.
  8. ^Styron, Emery (March 19, 2017)."The August eclipse is the 'most spectacular thing you'll ever see,' especially in Missouri".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedNovember 7,2017.
  9. ^Hochman, Benjamin."Hochman: Mizzou's Houck might be nation's best college pitcher".stltoday.com.RetrievedNovember 7,2017.
  10. ^[5][6][7][8][9]
  11. ^Shriver, Jerry (December 22, 2005)."Belly-up to the table for the finest fare around the world".USA Today.RetrievedNovember 7,2017.
  12. ^Niesen, Joan (August 12, 2019)."The Greatest College Town Eats".Sports Illustrated.RetrievedAugust 14,2019.
  13. ^abColumbia.Images of America Series. Arcadia Publishing. 2014. p. 92.ISBN978-1-4671-1300-7.RetrievedNovember 7,2017.
  14. ^abRedohl, Sarah (August 7, 2013)."Entertainment through the Ages".Columbia Business Times.Archived fromthe originalon November 9, 2017.RetrievedNovember 8,2017.
  15. ^McKinney, Roger (December 20, 2016)."97-year-old Columbia World War II veteran to receive diploma from Douglass High School".Columbia Daily Tribune.Retrieved November 8, 2017
  16. ^S, Taylor (July 31, 2015)."Booches: Best burger on wax".Rock M Nation.
  17. ^abBraden, Jonathon (October 14, 2016)."Fire claims life of former Booches co-owner".Columbia Daily Tribune.RetrievedNovember 7,2017.
  18. ^"David Ignatow Papers, 1929 - 1994".University of California, San Diegolibrary. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  19. ^The Best of photojournalism.Best of Photojournalism Series. National Press Photographers Association. 1987. p. 233.ISBN978-0-89471-470-2.RetrievedNovember 7,2017.
  20. ^The Savitar.E. W. Stephens. 1922. p. 535.RetrievedNovember 7,2017.
  21. ^The Military Engineer.Society of American Military Engineers. 1955. p. 368.RetrievedNovember 7,2017.
  22. ^Stark, Erika (March 23, 2016)."Walther says mayoral bid is a response to problems he believes he can solve".Columbia Missourian.RetrievedNovember 8,2017.
  23. ^Sanderson, Shane (March 29, 2016)."Booche's Billiards, Hank Waters and Frank Graham to enter Boone County Hall of Fame".Columbia Missourian.RetrievedNovember 8,2017.
  24. ^abWalljasper, Joe (October 14, 2016).""Norm" draws nostalgic fans to Mizzou Arena ".Columbia Daily Tribune.RetrievedNovember 8,2017.
  25. ^abLewis, Alec (November 8, 2017)."SEC Storied film 'Norm' airs Sunday Night on SEC Network".The Maneater.Archived fromthe originalon November 8, 2017.RetrievedNovember 8,2017.
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  • Media related toBoochesat Wikimedia Commons

38°57′01″N92°19′39″W/ 38.95017°N 92.32741°W/38.95017; -92.32741

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