Located at the corner of Lindbergh and Lemay Ferry, Dohack’s was a stalwart of South County for 80 years. In 1923, the family—Joe and Catherine Dohack, their son Ernest and his wife Josephine, and another son, Art—moved north from Kimmswick and established a barbecue restaurant. They soon expanded their menu to include fish; a 1934 ad boasted that the restaurant offered the largest fish fry in the state.
Before interstates, the highways from Memphis, Little Rock, and beyond traveled along Lemay Ferry. After World War II, Dohack’s was a popular spot for visitors from the south to grab a bite. To this day it’s remembered for its fried chicken, but you could also get jack salmon, or whiting, a name that the Dohack family claims to have originated. (Native son William S. Burroughs insisted that it was walleye pike.) The “hillbilly bran muffins” were also popular, as were multiple varieties of pies.
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In 1955, a fire destroyed the cypress wood restaurant, but temporary quarters were established. A newer place opened several years later, and at one time there were branches in Hazelwood, Festus, and Fairview Heights. All of those locations are gone now.
