Melbee’s is No Match for Applebee’s

By CHARLES FERRUZZA

As far as the hamlet of Mission, Kansas, is concerned, the town isn’t big enough for two queen bees.

While customers still flock to the Mission outlet of Applebee’s, its more sophisticated, independently owned neighbor, Melbee’s, is calling it a day.

I never thought Melbee’s was a good fit for Johnson Drive, with its inexpensive diners (Town Topic, Village Inn), hardware stores, shoe repair shops and an Apollo Hair Replacement System. I once asked Melbee’s owner Lloyd Boothe if “downtown” Mission was somewhat blue-collar for the Melbee’s crowd, who drank martinis and not only knew the lyrics to Cole Porter songs, but could – and did! — sing them along with the restaurant’s piano players.