A Weekend In KC

This past weekend our family had the privilege of making our 17^th annual trek to Kansas City to do a Volksmarch in the Plaza and spend some time with our long-time friends, the Jeffreys. It has become a favorite family tradition (obviously, since we’ve been doing it for seventeen years now!) and often serves to usher us into the Christmas season. A relatively new aspect to the tradition has been the addition of a lunch-time stop in Yates Center at a little restaurant Dad heard about several years ago. Frannie's definitely qualifies as one of those hole-in-the-wall hometown favorites. The entrance is tucked into the side of a large two-story building.

The restaurant itself is no more than two upstairs rooms that have been transformed into a kitchen and eating area. The primary draw to this unique dining experience (and anyone who knows my Dad will immediately understand why!) is that every meal is $1.

As an extra bonus, crackers are included in the price of the meal. :-)

Each day of the week is assigned a specific meal. Since we’ve only ever dined there on Fridays, we are always privileged to partake of the Taco Salad (Joey prefers the always-available turkey sandwich). A multitude of pies are baked daily by Frannie (wearing the red sweatshirt), and large pieces of each one may be purchased for an additional dollar.

I suppose collecting money the traditional way would ruin the ambience of this friendly place. Instead, an open cash register is located conveniently by the door so that diners can pay for their meal and make their own change on the way out.

Once in Kansas City, we had an enjoyable visit with the Jeffreys, as they extended their unfailing hospitality to our family, even in the midst of a busy schedule, including planning a wedding! Naomi got quite a kick out of explaining the functions and features of her new camera to Mrs. J and her contagious laughter quickly spread.

I had the privilege of picking Mr. J’s amazing business mind with all sorts of questions and received an autographed copy of the book he co-authored that has been endorsed by some of the biggest business gurus in the industry. I look forward to reading it!

Saturday afternoon, we made our way to the Country Club Plaza and enjoyed a rather quick 3-mile walk in the increasingly frigid air. One of these days, Lord willing, I want to walk around the Plaza at a leisurely pace (not a Volksmarch where we’re just focused on completing the designated course) and maybe even go in some of the stores…just for fun!

(Photo courtsey of Mr. J.)