Hays House 1857 Restaurant and Tavern

Seth Hays, a great-grandson of Daniel Boone and the founder of Council Grove, arrived in 1847 with trading rights on the Santa Fe Trail and in 1857 replaced his log store with the frame building that still houses the restaurant, directly on the trail (now Main Street). The building served travelers and citizens as a trading post, tavern, restaurant, hotel, courthouse, post office, and the printing office of Council Grove's first newspaper, and it survived a fire in 1886. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is recognized by the National Park Service as the oldest continuously operating restaurant west of the Mississippi River. After closing without notice in December 2019, it reopened in 2020 under co-owners Frankie Greco and executive chef Randall Dickson, just as the COVID-19 pandemic began. The Kansas Sampler Foundation named it one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas Cuisine.

Founder Seth Hays was Daniel Boone's great-grandson, and the 1857 building doubled as Council Grove's courthouse, post office, and the print shop of the town's first newspaper.

What to order: Down-home Kansas cuisine with locally sourced ingredients; chef Randall Dickson is known for his desserts and competition-barbecue background.