Booches

Bar and restaurant in Columbia, Missouri, U.S.

Booches

The front of Booches

Company type| Private
Industry| Restaurant, retail
Founded| 1884; 141 years ago (1884)
Founder| Paul Blucher "Booch" Venable
Headquarters|

Columbia, Missouri

United States

Products| Bar, restaurant, pool hall
Pool tables at Booches

Booches is a bar, restaurant, and pool hall on 9th Street in downtown Columbia, Missouri. Established in 1884, it is the oldest pool hall in Columbia. It is located near the University of Missouri and has traditionally been frequented by college students. In 2016, Booches was inducted into the Boone County Hall of Fame by the Boone County Historical Society.

The hamburgers that the restaurant produced were listed in USA Today as one of the best in the country in 2000. They were also praised by the publication again in 2005 and by Sports Illustrated in 2019.

## Overview

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Booches, established in 1884,[1][2][3] has had six locations in downtown Columbia. Since 1928 it has been on 18th and has been on 9th Street.[4] It is the oldest pool hall in Columbia and has full-sized pool, snooker, and three cushion billiards tables.[2][5][6] Booches serves food, as its hamburgers, which are served on wax paper, were listed in a 2000 report in USA Today as one of the best 25 in the United States.[10] In 2005, Jerry Shriver of USA Today included Booches' hamburger on the list of top 25 dishes from his "Down-home Dining" project.[11] In 2019, Joan Niesen and Laken Litman of Sports Illustrated named Booches' hamburgers as the "#1 Greatest College Town Eats" in the nation.[12]

Booches is named after its founder, Paul Blucher Venable, who was nicknamed "Booch" as a child by writer Eugene Field.[13][14] Opened as a male-only establishment,[6][14] during the times of racial segregation in the United States, the establishment would not serve African Americans.[15][16] By the 1970s it would serve both, and the venue gained a liquor license in 1982.[6][14]

During the mid to late 1970s, the then-owners of Booches edited and published four issues of the Review la Booche, a nationally published literary journal.[17][18] The journal featured poetry, prose, sketches, and photographs by John Ciardi, William Stafford, Elton Glaser, Frank Stack, and Richard 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 the University of Missouri,[19] and it has traditionally been used by University of Missouri and St. Louis Cardinals sports fans.[3][13][20][21] It has been described by some in contemporary times as a dive bar and a melting pot.[7][22] Booches was inducted into the Boone County Historical Society Hall of Fame at the Walters-Boone County Historical Museum in 2016.[23]

## In popular culture

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Booches was included in the film Norm, which aired on ESPN's SEC Network.[24][25] Norm depicted the career of the former University of Missouri basketball coach Norm Stewart, who was a regular patron of the establishment.[24][25]

## See also

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* List of bars
* List of hamburger restaurants

## References

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1. ^ Staples, Andy (August 9, 2017). "Ranking America's best college town meals". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
2. ^ a b Jarzemsky, Matt (April 18, 2008). "Pool hall popularity change over generations". Columbia Business Times. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
3. ^ a b Simonds, D. (2004). Best Food in Town: The Restaurant Lover's Guide to Comfort Food in the Midwest. Clerisy Press. p. 128\. ISBN 978-1-57860-146-2. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
4. ^ McKinney, Roger (October 14, 2016). "Karen Miller announces initiative to digitize Boone County historical photo negatives". Columbia Daily Tribune. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
5. ^ a b Stern, 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\. ISBN 978-0-451-49620-1. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
6. ^ a b c d Pham, Scott (November 30, 2012). "Booches' Famous Burgers Seek New Buns After Hostess Plant Closes". NPR. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
7. ^ a b Melville, Greg (May 10, 2012). "Where Can I Find America's Best Hamburgers?". Outside. Retrieved November 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. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
9. ^ Hochman, Benjamin (February 16, 2017). "Hochman: Mizzou's Houck might be nation's best college pitcher". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved November 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. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
12. ^ Niesen, Joan (August 12, 2019). "The Greatest College Town Eats". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
13. ^ a b Columbia. Images of America Series. Arcadia Publishing. 2014. p. 92\. ISBN 978-1-4671-1300-7. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
14. ^ a b c Redohl, Sarah (August 7, 2013). "Entertainment through the Ages". Columbia Business Times. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 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. Archived from the original on July 7, 2024. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
17. ^ a b Braden, Jonathon (October 14, 2016). "Fire claims life of former Booches co-owner". Columbia Daily Tribune. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
18. ^ "David Ignatow Papers, 1929 - 1994". University of California, San Diego library. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
19. ^ The Best of photojournalism. Best of Photojournalism Series. National Press Photographers Association. 1987. p. 233\. ISBN 978-0-89471-470-2. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
20. ^ The Savitar. E. W. Stephens. 1922. p. 535. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
21. ^ The Military Engineer. Society of American Military Engineers. 1955. p. 368. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
22. ^ Stark, Erika (March 23, 2016). "Walther says mayoral bid is a response to problems he believes he can solve". Columbia Missourian. Retrieved November 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. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
24. ^ a b Walljasper, Joe (October 14, 2016). ""Norm" draws nostalgic fans to Mizzou Arena". Columbia Daily Tribune. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
25. ^ a b Lewis, Alec (November 8, 2017). "SEC Storied film 'Norm' airs Sunday Night on SEC Network". The Maneater. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.

## External links

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* Media related to Booches at Wikimedia Commons

Portals:

* Companies
* Cue sports
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38°57′01″N 92°19′39″W﻿ / ﻿38.95017°N 92.32741°W﻿ / 38.95017; -92.32741