Chuck Leininger

A few years ago, with his future in mind, Leininger and his wife, Carol, of Lincoln, Nebraska, purchased a second home in the Ozarks, near the small town of Golden, Missouri. Although temporarily airplane-less, Leininger loves airplanes, so the couple’s new home, situated in a Table Rock-lakeside neighborhood near Table Rock Airport (MO32), seemed like a dream location.

“There was only one problem,” Chuck Leininger said. “There wasn’t a restaurant nearby, no place for neighbors to get together for coffee and a meal.”

Leininger set about correcting the deficit, without letting his lack of restaurant experience deter him.

“There was a property with a circa-1962 hangar and cabins for sale alongside the airstrip,” Leininger said, “so I bought it, then kicked around ideas for an eatery. “After visiting a friend in New York who operates a railcar diner, I knew that’s what I wanted.”

Leininger first purchased an authentic rail dining car, but after having it transported from Maine to Missouri, he realized it wouldn’t work for guests in wheelchairs. Undeterred, Leininger shifted course.

An architect neighbor drew up the diner design Leininger had in mind, and plans for its construction moved forward.

“I had help from neighbors and family with every step of this project, including lessons in restaurant management,” said Leininger, whose daughter Jordan now helps out in a management role.

Over a year in the works, Depot Diner opened in May 2022. Like an authentic dining car, only newer and wider, the diner features an open kitchen fronted by a lunch counter with barstool seating. Across the aisle, a row of booths adjacent to wide windows afford diners a view of the parallel paved and grass airstrips. Photos of airplanes and historic railroad memorabilia, plus a semi-historic display of the Leiningers’ wedding attire, line the walls and a shelf above the lunch counter.

The extensive menu includes breakfast anytime, plus a variety of soups, salads, sandwiches, dinners, and desserts. A specialty, pork tenderloin dinners and sandwiches give a nod to Leininger’s Nebraska roots.

The diner’s not Leininger’s only contribution to his Table Rock neighborhood, though. He converted the old hangar on the property into “Hangar at Point 25,” a rental venue for the community.

“We actually remodeled it for our own family get-togethers,” said Leininger, “but thought it might come in handy for other people’s, too.”

With the same thought in mind, Carol Leininger remodeled the smaller structures on the property into short-term rentals or guest houses for neighbors who have family coming to stay.

Although Leininger doesn’t have a date in mind for his own retirement, he’s investing himself in a someday-retirement-community that now stretches far beyond the rural neighborhood where Depot Diner is located. At its heart is Leininger himself, who doesn’t miss a chance to greet all of Depot Diner’s patrons by name.

Sheila Harris is a freelance writer from Missouri.