Carson's Sports Grille

Carson's is a family-owned restaurant founded in September 2006 in Maryville, a small city in Nodaway County with a population of around 12,000. The restaurant has other branches in Saint Louis. It specializes in pub fare, including wraps, sandwiches, burgers, and appetizers. Later, they added the pork tenderloin sandwich, which became one of the restaurant's signature items. Carson's Sports Grill closed in the summer of 2020, but as of 2024 the restaurant space remains vacant and hasn't been replaced yet.

Carson's Sports Grille was founded in September 2006 by Maureen Carmichael, his mother in law, wife and Renee Riedel, on board. One of the owners, Renee Riedel, had 20 years of experience working in restaurants before he decided to open his own. The family took the decision to open the restaurant in Maryville after travelling from Denver, Colorado where they originally lived, to Kansas City and then to Clarinda, Iowa, where their in-laws lived. Carson Riedel, the vice president and manager of the restaurant mentioned that they would often get hungry around Maryville but there was no suitable place for them to stop and eat and this inspired them to open the restaurant. They made it a sports grille, recognizing how much the people in Maryville loved and were passionate about sports. The restaurant was open for almost 14 years before officially closing in the summer of 2020. While it was open, Carson's attracted not only locals but also visitors from nearby towns, including Saint Joseph. Carson’s was more than just a place to eat; it became a social hub for sports fans and families alike, offering a welcoming environment where people could gather to watch games, celebrate victories, or simply enjoy a good meal. The restaurant had approximately 45 workers who were all students at Northwest Missouri State University. As most college students were only in the area for 4 years, the owners of Carson’s faced the same difficulty as many businesses in town – having to hire new workers frequently.

The space that most recently was Carson’s Sports Grille wasn’t always a restaurant. In 1886, the 6,200-square-foot shop where Carson's is now located was divided into 2 shops: the first one, on south side near the bank, was a clothing store while the other one was a drugstore. According to the Sanborn maps, both shops stayed the same through 1909.

Sauber, Jena. Pub fare, family staple at Carson's Sports Grille, News-Press Now. October 27th, 2020. Accessed October 7th, 2024. https://www.newspressnow.com/life/food/eating_unchained/pub-fare-family-staple-at-carsons-sports-grille/article_6a996cbb-4eb3-54ff-bd1e-f615158223b0.html.

Quentin, Morris. "New owner plans reopening The Palms behind remodeling." The Missourian (MARYVILLE) August 21st, 2021.

1886 Sanborn Map: Maryville, MO, URL. (URL=https://library.missouri.edu/specialcollections/collections/show/43)