Established restaurant in Missouri’s Amish Country serves staples
from family kitchens.
By Kathie Sutin

Great Amish food is as close as Gingerich Dutch Pantry in the tiny town of Jamesport, Mo. This happy find in the section of northwest Missouri that’s home to the state’s largest Amish community serves an Amish dinner that includes roast beef, real mashed potatoes, homemade gravy, Amish dressing, schnitzel beans, Dutch pepper slaw and a roll.

Above: Bakery worker Marilyn Moulin takes fresh fruit pies out of the oven to serve in the restaurant. Below: Gingerich Dutch Pantry Kathie Sutin photos

The restaurant, owned by Owen and Ada Mae Gingerich, has a wide variety of American fare on its menu and buffets, but the Amish dinner, served daily, is what draws many people to the restaurant.

Amish dressing and schnitzel beans, staples at many Amish meals, make the dinner unique, Gingerich says. Schnitzel beans are green beans flavored with bacon and a sweet-sour sugar and vinegar dressing. Amish dressing is sage bread dressing with potatoes, carrots, celery and chopped onions flavored with chicken broth and chicken seasoning.
“Those are two things you usually don’t find in a restaurant unless it’s back east in Pennsylvania or someplace like that,” he says.

For groups of 15 or more reserving at least 24 hours in advance, the restaurant offers the Amish dinner served family style and includes a choice of two kinds of pie for dessert.
Twenty years ago, Gingerich had no intention of going into the restaurant business. He was busy with repairing lawn mowers and chain saws, as well as selling lawn and garden equipment. However, the owner of Cedarwood, the name of the restaurant at the time, thought Gingerich would be perfect to take over his business, but Gingerich wasn’t interested.

Three years later, the deal was sweetened and the timing for Gingerich was right.
“We were at a point . . . where we were ready for a change in careers. So, we got to dealing and talking and I started a lease purchase and finally, I ended up buying it.” That was in 1991.

Gingerich says his wife was somewhat reluctant about going into the restaurant business. “She was not as wholehearted as I was. She is now, but it took a long time to convince her,” he said.

Owning a restaurant was a big change for the couple and they learned the business by trial and error, he said. Gingerich started by hiring people with restaurant experience.

“I kind of learned from them for the first year or so and then as I caught on, I wanted to make some changes and run it the way I wanted to run it,” he said. “Some of those people moved on to other things and we’ve been here ever since.”

Within a year or two, the couple added a bakery to the restaurant. It features several types of cookies, quick breads and the yeast breads served in the restaurant.

They enlisted friends who owned Koehn Bakery in Butler, Mo., to teach them how to run a bakery. Cinnamon rolls are the most popular seller, but Dutch letters, almond paste-filled cookies in the shape of an S, also are in demand.

“We had people that used to come in and ask for Dutch letters,” Gingerich said. “We didn’t even know what Dutch letters were, so we looked around for a recipe and found one. We started making them and people just went crazy for them. They’re still very popular today.”
While he never envisioned cooking for others, Gingerich knew how to cook before he bought the restaurant. Some of the dishes served in the restaurant are from family recipes.

“I grew up Amish. I came from a large family and I would sometimes help my mom cook. I kind of liked cooking,” Gingerich says, adding he’s in the restaurant’s kitchen only on busy days.

The Gingerich’s children worked in the restaurant, but not anymore. “They’ve all grown up and gotten real jobs,” Gingerich said. •
Kathie Sutin is a contributor from St. Louis, Mo.

Before you go

Gingerich Dutch Pantry is at 118 S. Broadway on the corner of Broadway and West Auberry Grove (State Highway F) in Jamesport. For more information, contact (660) 684-6212 or visit www.gingerichdutchpantry.com.

From December to mid-March, hours are Monday–Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Friday 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. The restaurant is closed on Sunday. During winter hours, the bakery closes by 2 p.m.

To visit Jamesport, first stop by your nearest AAA service office for maps, reservations, TripTiks® and TourBook® guides. Order free information about Missouri through online Reader Service.

Dutch Pantry dining room Gingreich Dutch Pantry photo

What’s Cooking at Gingerich Dutch Pantry

Amish dinner: served all day starting at 10:30 a.m. including roast beef, homemade mashed potatoes, homemade brown gravy, Amish dressing, schnitzel beans, Dutch pepper slaw and dinner roll $9.99

Noon buffet, weekdays, includes fried chicken, other entrees, homemade mashed potatoes and gravy, two vegetables, soup and salad bar, homemade bread and jam and the dessert bar $8.99

Friday night buffet includes fried catfish fillets and whole catfish, barbecue ribs, shrimp, fried chicken, fried potatoes, two vegetables, salad bar, homemade bread and jam and the dessert bar $11.99

Other menu items include
Hot beef sandwich $6.99
Chicken strip platter $5.99
Hot tenderloin sandwich . $6.99
Crispy chicken salad. . $7.49