Ray's Lunch

Ray’s Lunch is a classic American diner in downtown Excelsior Springs that has been serving traditional breakfast and lunch since the 1940s. It continues to use Ray Miller’s original chili and hamburger recipes cooked on the historic cast-iron flat top, along with hand-breaded tenderloins, catfish, and daily fresh-baked cinnamon rolls and biscuits. The restaurant preserves its mid-century character with original equipment, decor, and a strong sense of local history.

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| Corporate parent | None || | Notable features | Original cast-iron flat top grill, historic photos and decor, Ray Miller’s original recipes ||

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Description

Ray’s Lunch occupies a modest red-and-white building in the heart of historic downtown Excelsior Springs. Since the 1940s it has served straightforward, well-executed American diner food using recipes and methods that have changed little over the decades. The restaurant is especially known for continuing Ray Miller’s original chili and hamburger formulas on the same seasoned cast-iron flat top that has been in use for generations. Hand-breaded tenderloins and catfish, plus daily fresh cinnamon rolls and biscuits, round out a menu that feels like a living piece of mid-20th-century small-town Missouri.

Ownership and history

Ray and Goldie Miller established the business in the 1930s (originally across the street) and opened the current building in 1942. The restaurant has passed through several family ownerships while preserving the core recipes and equipment:

• Ray & Goldie Miller (founders)
• Bill & Barbara Southwick
• Dave & Shelly McKown with Joan Munns
• Current family ownership (associated with Dan Tota in recent years)

The original hamburger press, seasoned cast-iron grill, cash register, counter, and stools remain in use. Historic photos and local newspaper pages under the glass countertop reinforce the sense of continuity.

Menu

Last verified: 2026-08-14 · Source: Ray’s Lunch official site (Squarespace) · URL(s): https://rayslunch.com/, https://rayslunch.com/lunch-menu-all-day, https://rayslunch.com/menu · Confidence: High on names/prices/options; description ceiling reached — the operator publishes a name-and-price menu with no per-item descriptions (only the Garbage Sandwich and Soda carry a description on-site). Per-item context below is drawn from the operator’s own homepage tagline¹; anything beyond that is not first-party and is not asserted here.

Signatures

• Ray’s Original Chili — bowl $6 / small $4; the operator’s homepage identifies the recipe as Ray Miller’s original chili¹²
• Hamburger — $2.50, double $4.75; the operator’s homepage bills Ray’s as “famous for our Hamburgers” and identifies the recipe as Ray Miller’s original hamburger recipe¹²
• Cheeseburger — $2.75, double $5.25²
• Hand breaded Tenderloin (sandwich) — $7; the operator’s homepage states tenderloins are hand-breaded in house¹²
• Hand breaded Catfish Sandwich — $7; the operator’s homepage states catfish is hand-breaded in house¹²

Lunch / All-Day Sandwiches

• Hot Dog — $4.50; Chili Dog $7; Chili Cheese Dog $7.50²
• Grilled Cheese — $3²
• Steak Sandwich — $7²
• Chicken (sandwich) — $7²

Platters (all platters served with fries and coleslaw)²

• Chicken Strips — $9 (no coleslaw)²
• Cod — $9²
• Hand breaded Catfish — $9²
• Popcorn Shrimp — $9²

Sides

• Fries — $3.50 (half $2)²
• Onion Rings — $4.50 (half $2.50)²
• Ray’s Original Chili (listed under Sides on the lunch menu) — $6 (small $4)²

Breakfast Plates (served 6am–11am)³

• Bacon or Sausage, Eggs and Toast — $7.50; with half hash brown or breakfast potato $8.50; with full $9.25³
• Ham, Eggs and Toast — $8.50; with half hash brown or breakfast potato $9.50; with full $10.25³
• Pancake — $4³
• Waffle — $5³
• French Toast — $7³
• Breakfast Burrito — $4.50³
• Biscuit and Gravy — $4.50 (double $6, triple $7)³

Omelettes (with toast)³

• Sausage or Bacon with Cheese and Toast — $8³
• Ham and Cheese with Toast — $8.50³
• Cheese with Toast — $5.50³

Breakfast Sandwiches

• Garbage Sandwich — “Choice of Bacon or Sausage, Egg, Hash browns, and American on a Bun” (operator’s own description on site); $6, ham $6.50³
• Bacon or Sausage, Egg and Cheese — price on menu³
• Ham, Egg and Cheese — price on menu³
• Egg and Cheese — price on menu³

À la Carte (breakfast)

• Egg, Toast or Biscuit, English Muffin, Bacon or Sausage, Ham (2 pieces $6), Hash browns or Breakfast Potatoes (half order $2)³
• Cinnamon Roll — the operator’s homepage states cinnamon rolls are cooked fresh daily; $3.50 à la carte¹³

Drinks

• Coffee, Hot Tea or Cocoa; Milk; Chocolate Milk; Orange or Apple Juice; Soda (“Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Sierra Mist” per operator’s own description); Dr. Pepper, Root Beer; Iced Tea or Lemonade. All drinks include free refills except Milk, Juice and Cocoa (operator’s own note).³

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Sources

• Status verified active 2026-06-23 via Yelp — Ray’s Lunch (Updated January 2026) (accessed 2026-06-23). Operating at 231 E Broadway St, Excelsior Springs MO; Mon–Sat 6am–2pm; 54 reviews, recent activity.

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Disputes

(None recorded.)

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Footnotes

1. Ray’s Lunch — official homepage tagline — asserts (verified 2026-08-14): “Serving Tradition in Downtown Excelsior Springs, MO since 1947”; “Famous for our Hamburgers”; “Specializing in traditional american diner fare, we continue to serve Ray Miller’s original chili and hamburger recipe. Tenderloins and Catfish are handbreaded and the cinnamon rolls and biscuits are cooked fresh daily. Come in and see a snapshot of history with the original seasoned cast iron grill, cash register and counter seats.”; hours Mon–Sat 6am–2pm, breakfast 6am–11am. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

2. Ray’s Lunch — official all-day / lunch menu — asserts: hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs/chili dogs, steak/chicken/hand-breaded tenderloin/catfish sandwiches, fried platters (chicken strips, cod, catfish, popcorn shrimp), Ray’s Original Chili, fries, onion rings, with prices (verified 2026-06-20). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷

3. Ray’s Lunch — official breakfast menu (6am–11am) — asserts: breakfast plates, omelettes, sandwiches (Garbage Sandwich carries operator’s own description “Choice of Bacon or Sausage, Egg, Hash browns, and American on a Bun”), à la carte items (egg, toast/biscuit, English muffin, bacon/sausage, ham, hash browns/potatoes, cinnamon roll), and drinks (Soda description “Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Sierra Mist”; free-refill note), with prices (verified 2026-08-14). Menu is name-and-price with only two per-item descriptions on the entire site. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹