Old Diner, New Home

By Clay Williams

Clay Williams

Team Cox

STORY SUMMARY

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Freedom and family brought Morgan Newkirk and her husband Dana Tota to Excelsior Springs from Colorado. Seeking to escape the corporate restaurant industry and closeness to home after her father’s death, Morgan and Dan took over Ray’s Diner, a local institution in Excelsior Springs, the town where her father had lived and an hour from her mother in Kansas.

After spending the pandemic thanklessly keeping the chain restaurant she managed afloat, Morgan and Dan were ready to create their own destiny and run their own business. With Ray’s Diner, they have found themselves at the center of a town hub, providing hospitality and comfort to a rotation of regulars who make the diner a second home.

Six days a week, they open their doors before dawn, serving locals coming off the night shift and the early birds on their way to work. The menu, mostly unchanged from the classic diner fare longtime guests have come to expect, features regular specials that allow them to try slightly more exotic dishes, occasionally renamed to appeal to those hesitant to try something new.

Dan Tota and Morgan Newkirk share coffee before they open Ray’s Diner on Broadway in Excelsior Springs, Mo. The couple purchased the diner in November of the previous year to start a new chapter of their lives, independent of toxic work environments and with the freedom to indulge their creative impulses.

A framed photocopy of a photo of Ray and Goldie Miller hangs on the wall at Ray’s Diner. The diner is decorated with images and news clippings from its history and that of the town.

Natasha Prewitt tells Morgan about the history of some of the equipment in the small kitchen behind the counter. Prewitt, a server and the daughter of the diner’s previous owner, Brenda Fudge, has worked at Ray’s since she was 16 and connects the couple with nearly 20 years of history.

Natasha takes an order from a customer on a Guest Check notepad.

Morgan pours coffee for a regular early morning customer. The first wave of customers arrive before dawn, coming from late night jobs or before starting their day shifts.

Ray's Diner bustles during the breakfast rush. Guests come for dishes like the Garbage Sandwich, piled with eggs, meat, cheese, and hash browns,

Debbie Shanks brings coffee to guests at the diner. Debbie has worked at Ray’s for eight years.

The remains of a family's breakfast on a rainy morning at Ray’s.

The empty corner booth Ray’s. Some locals say the booth is the best place to people watch as the crowd comes and goes through the day.

Morgan and Dan eat a barbecue dinner at 3 Halves Brewing Co. in Liberty, Mo. After spending all day cooking and serving food, they rarely cook dinner for themselves.

Brian Kratzer, Co-Director

Alyssa Schukar, Co-Director

Hany Hawasly, Technical Director

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