Delmonico Restaurant Then and Now

503-505 S Second Avenue

Dodge City had four lumber yards in 1926 but none further south than Trail Street. Carl G Heitman changed that in the Spring of 1927 when he opened South Side Lumber south of the Rock Island tracks between Sunnyside and what was then Bridge Street.

Lindas Lumber Company purchased the business in April of 1929 and expanded the facility. The series of structures extended almost halfway between Bridge and Sunnyside.

Company founder Edward S Lindas died in July of 1949 and the liquidation of his properties began shortly after his passing. By the time the company announced the closing of the Dodge City location on August 17, 1950, all of the inventory had already been sold.

William J Tawzer had been a salesman at McDowell Chevrolet. Tawzer Motor Company briefly occupied the old lumber yard from around 1951 to 1952.

This parade photo shows there was once an arch over the entrance to the parking area on the south side of the building.

An eatery called Travel Snack was established in the building in February of 1952. They sold chicken and shrimp boxes plus burgers to go.

At the same time, public sales were held regularly in an area of the complex with dirt floors.

Daniel and Lois Ducic moved from Pratt in 1953 and opened Ducic Upholstery that October. By 1957, the auctions were being held by Don Weece and his partners.

By 1959, the furniture business had moved and was renamed Don’s Auction. Louis and Ola Vernon had taken over the upholstery business they called Vernon’s Upholstery.

Vern and Ruby Collier sold the Boot Hill Grill around 1962 and turned their attention toward South Dodge. Delmonico Cafe opened in October of 1963.

Vern, a butcher by trade, had equipment installed in February of 1964 which allowed him to cut his own steaks.

As offerings expanded, the cafe became known as Delmonico Restaurant. A gift shop was located in the north end of the building. The Colliers were famous for their Sunday buffets.

When the Arkansas River flooded in June of 1965, the restaurant filled with four to five feet of water.

Cleanup of the flood mud was quite the operation but the Colliers managed to reopen Delmonico on July 31.

Delmonico closed in the Spring of 1975 and the furniture store which had become Rent-Buy of Dodge City, Inc. announced in May they would return to the building once it had undergone extensive remodeling. The Delmonico pink exterior was replaced with mustard yellow. Several windows were covered with metal siding.

Contractor T. J. Page had the project completed by September 3 and Rent-Buy held a grand opening event from September 12-20, 1975.

Around 1981, the business changed names again and became known as Furniture Outlet.

Although the building had shown its age for decades, heavy snow in March of 1999 caused its demise. That old lumber yard roof wasn’t meant to carry such a load and several rafters broke under the weight. Furniture Outlet was demolished by Gladden Excavating on June 17, 1999. Photos: Ford County Historical Society Dodge City Daily Globe Collection

Due to the outbuildings which had been added to the property over the years, the store remained open during reconstruction. The former lumber yard was replaced with a metal building set further back from the street with parking in front.

Additions continued and the group of metal buildings was basically united as one giant structure. Furniture Outlet became an Ashley Furniture HomeStore in 2013. Around 2024, the signage was changed from Ashley Furniture to Weece Furniture but now the Ashley branding is back. The Weece family sold the business to Miller’s of Claflin in the Summer of 2025 and they remodeled the building again.

This is how the former site of Delmonico Restaurant looks today:

My family shopped at Furniture Outlet several times when I was a child and it looked like it was going to fall down the very first time I saw it. In retrospect, this is likely because I didn’t understand how stucco works but also because I hated the yellow color. Aside from being a bit ungainly and difficult to photograph, the property looks good now…for a metal building.

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