10.13.2009 11:36 am
Ferguson Maid-Rite for sale
P-D Restaurant Critic and Food Writer
Barely a year after it opened, the first St. Louis location of the Iowa-based “loose meat” restaurant chain Maid-Rite is for sale and apparently closed (no one answered the phone on several tries). Maid-Rite shares the space with the only Missouri-side location of Godfather’s Pizza, which is also “temporarily closed,” according to the Godfather’s corporate website. (There’s still one open in Lebanon, Ill.)
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Joe Bonwich has been the restaurant critic for the Post-Dispatch since 2002 and has covered the local food scene for various publications for more than 25 years. He does his best to maintain his anonymity so that he isn't recognized in restaurants (which is why his picture looks like it does). 
These used to be staples in mid to southern Illinois, but dissappeared. I tried this Maid Rite several months ago, and found that it was not the same as I remembered it. Less meat, less “sloppy” and kind of slow service.
All of these non-original Maid Rite locations are terrible compared to the few remaining locations that still hang on. Your best bet, from St. Louis, is to head to Hannibal or better still, Springfield, IL for a taste of what a Maid Rite is really supposed to be.
The best I’ve been in, however, is Davenport, IA. They still have the old iron steam table right behind the counter.
Joe, have you eaten at this location? The food was terrible, and the service even worse. Ferguson doesn’t need another chain restaurant in the downtown area, they need food and service that’s affordable and good.
In my experience, this Maid Rite was way too expensive for what you would get…. and so it lost my business.
Pretty sad… There was an O.T. Hodges in that same location that already shut down also, and now the Maid Rite. However, I must agree with Steve - The Maid-Rite was quite overpriced (and service was pretty slow). I hope the mexican restaurant in that group of stores there makes it - It is great!
I have to disagree with most of the other posters. I’m originally from the Quad-Cities so I know my Maid-Rites. The Ferguson Maid-Rite was an authentic franchise, and I never had any bad experience with the food quality or the service. Also, the Springfield IL restaurant is not the same Maid-Rite. Name may be the same, but the recipe is obviously different. The closest location to STL is now back to Rolla, assuming that one is still open. I’m very sad to hear that the Ferguson location is closed. Now I have to wait for my trip home for Christmas to get my next Maid-Rite fix.
First, is the Rolla one an old one or a new one?
Second…
The Springfield, IL Maid-Rite is one of the Taylor’s Maid-Rite franchises. Maid-Rite Corp sold the rights to Taylor in the early-mid 1900’s. Taylor’s is in Marshalltown, IA. Many of the Taylor franchises are, in my opinion, better than the modern Maid-Rite corp franchises (which Ferguson was) and even some of the old Maid-Rite Corp shops alike. Ferguson microwaved their sandwiches, and they were always horrifically dry. As a former Iowa resident myself (also), I’d rather have a tasty sandwich in a Taylor franchise than the dried out crap in Ferguson.
Mason City, IA had another good one but I think it’s gone now.
Marion, IA is another good one still kicking.
The guy that opened the Maid-Rite in Ferguson had actually wanted to re-open OT Hodge’s, but they apparently wanted a ridiculous amount of money for the naming rights for a business that was out of business.