The back bar of an old tavern on a quiet afternoon, beer taps on a worn wooden counter, bottles on shelving in front of a mirrored back, empty stools.

Short Line Tavern

The door and the grill do not keep the same hours, and neither of them keeps the same hours two days running. Here is the whole week.

Door and kitchen, week of the 27th
Day	Door open	Grill on	On that night
Monday	3:00pm to 11:00pm	4:00pm to 9:00pm	Quietest night of the week. Two pool tables free after six.
Tuesday	2:00pm to 11:00pm	4:00pm to 9:00pm	Tenderloin night. The kitchen cuts and breads them that afternoon and stops when they are gone.
Wednesday	2:00pm to 11:00pm	4:00pm to 9:00pm	Dart league from 7:00pm, September through March. The back room fills up.
Thursday	2:00pm to 11:00pm	4:00pm to 9:00pm	Burger and a draw, $9.50, all night.
Friday	11:30am to 1:30am	11:30am to 10:00pm	The only day with a lunch. Catfish after four until it runs out.
Saturday	2:00pm to 1:30am	4:00pm to 10:00pm	Live music one Saturday a month. Ask, or watch the door for the board.
Sunday	2:00pm to 10:00pm	4:00pm to 8:00pm	Chiefs games on all four screens in season. Kitchen closes at eight whatever the score is.

(816) 555-0101 Call ahead on a Friday. Lunch and the late close are the two things that move.

Off the grill

Short list on purpose. Everything is cooked to order, so a full room means a wait, and the bar will tell you how long before you order.

Breaded pork tenderloin $11.50
Half pound burger $10.00
Bacon cheeseburger $11.75
Catfish, two fillets $14.00
Chicken strips $10.50
Grilled cheese and fries $7.00
Onion rings $6.50
Fried mushrooms $6.50
Basket of fries $4.00
Side salad $4.50

Prices shown are illustrative and set by the owner. Domestic bottles, six draws on tap, and the well is the well.

A plain brick corner building on an empty small town square at dusk, dark awnings over the windows and warm light inside, wet street.

A breaded pork tenderloin much wider than its bun sitting in a red plastic basket lined with paper, a basket of fries beside it on a wooden bar top.

The long room of an old tavern, a wooden bar and stools down one side, booths down the other, pool tables at the back under hanging lamps.

The room

One long room with the bar down the left and booths down the right, two pool tables at the back, and a door onto the square. It has been a tavern under one name or another since the building went up, and most of what is on the walls was left by somebody who drank here. Nobody is going to make a fuss over you and nobody is going to card the whole table for one round.

Kids are welcome at a booth until nine. The back room seats about thirty and there is no charge to use it, but tell us a week out so the dart league is not in it.

Finding it and calling first

The square in Buckner. Park on the street. If the sign is lit the door is open, and if you are driving in from out of town on a Friday, ring first, because Friday is the day the hours are unlike any other day.

(816) 555-0101

Where: 123 Main Street, Buckner, Missouri
Kitchen last order: Fifteen minutes before the grill time above
Back room: Seats about thirty, no charge, a week of notice