Defiance Roadhouse

Update as of April 2024: The Roadhouse is closed indefinently. 

In 2012, the current owners of Defiance Roadhouse took over Dave and Jacquie’s, a longtime bar/restaurant at a bend in the road on Route 94, running along the Missouri River. They added outdoor dining and renovated the interior. They did keep a clientele that leans “biker,” however, the parking lot overflowing with Harleys and leather on sunny weekends. They kept an extensive taxidermy squirrel collection, too.

The bar has all the standard decorations you’d expect from an American biker bar, from neon beer logos to motorcycle paraphernalia, but it also has a vast array of taxidermy squirrel dioramas. There are squirrels playing music. Squirrels dancing in hula skirts. Squirrels riding motorcycles. Squirrels dancing with Barbie dolls. There is an Uncle Sam squirrel. There are squirrel cops and squirrel robbers. Most human activities, apropos of seemingly absolutely nothing, are reenacted by taxidermy squirrels decorating the walls of this Missouri roadhouse. 

If squirrels and motorcycles aren’t your thing, you can still just stop in for a bite and a brew after meandering the Katy Trail or perusing area wineries. The buffalo chicken sandwich, French dip, and pizza all come recommended, but don’t sleep on the Reuben sandwich, either. The menu may be the only spot in the place you won’t find squirrels.