Doe's Eat Place
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Doe's Eat Place is a chain of restaurants in Mississippi and Arkansas that specializes in steaks and tamales.
Doe's Eat Place was started in Greenville, Mississippi in 1941 by Dominick "Big Doe" and Mamie Signa. It started as a honky-tonk for blacks. Because of the racial segregation at the time it was socially unacceptable for whites to come into Doe's. Therefore, when a local white doctor began to stop at Doe's for a meal between house calls Doe would cook a steak and serve him in the back. Eventually word about the steaks spread and the honky tonk was turned into a restaurant for whites. "Big Doe" retired in 1974 and passed along the business to his sons Little Doe and Charles.
The original Doe's Eat Place is still run from the building it started in. It is a relatively small and shabby building in the middle of a downscale neighborhood. The dining area contrasts with the outside of the building by being clean and nicely kept up. Doe's has been described as having a "dive-y atmosphere" and "ramshackle surroundings." Customers to the restaurant enter through the part of the kitchen where the steaks are cooked and the kitchen is open to the dining area. To contrast with the atmosphere that has been described as "at least a few degrees this side of 'casual,'" the prices at Doe's are more upscale. Steaks can cost in the neighborhood of thirty dollars.
Although Doe's serves tamales, gumbo, catfish, and shrimp, they are most famous for their steaks. The steaks are cooked in a natural gas oven. The burners in this oven are mounted on the top and shoot flames down. This allows the drippings from the steak to fall into a pan underneath the grill so that they can be poured back over the steak.
Doe's Eat Place has franchised out from its original location in Greenville into six additional locations in Arkansas and Missouri. In the 1992 presidential campaign Clinton staffers frequented the Little Rock franchise of Doe's Eat Place. Franchised locations are found in Little Rock, Bentonville, Fort Smith, Fayetteville, Hot Springs and Springfield, Missouri.
