Today we’d like to introduce you to Zack Ewing.
Hi Zack, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
The idea for Capone’s started long before we ever opened the doors. It began with a vision for what I believed could exist in our community.
I wanted to create something different—something people wouldn’t expect to find in a small Missouri town. Not simply another restaurant, but a place built around an experience. A place where the food was made from scratch, quality mattered more than quantity, and people could sit down, slow down, and actually connect with each other again.
For years, Capone’s existed mostly in my head. I could picture the atmosphere, the hidden speakeasy feel, the food, the music, the details and even the way I wanted people to feel when they walked through the door. The idea continued to grow and evolve until eventually I had to make a decision: either keep dreaming about it or find a way to build it.
Building it was the hard part.
There were plenty of moments when it would have been easier to scale the vision back, cut corners or create something more conventional. But I believed that being in a smaller community didn’t mean people should have to travel somewhere else to experience exceptional food and hospitality. I believed we could create something right here that people would actually travel to experience.
That belief became Capone’s.
Since opening, it has continued to evolve far beyond the original restaurant concept. We’ve built an entire experience around scratch-made food, unique dining, our own small-batch brewing, the 1933 Lounge, and now we’re continuing to explore new ideas and opportunities.
But what I’m most proud of isn’t any single menu item, room or concept. It’s seeing people make memories here. Birthdays, anniversaries, first dates, family dinners and celebrations happen inside something that, for years, existed only as an idea in my head.
The journey hasn’t been easy, and I don’t think anything worth building ever really is. I’ve learned that sometimes the biggest limitation we put on an idea is believing it can’t happen because of where we are or where we came from.
Capone’s is proof to me that a big vision can start in a small town—and sometimes that small town is exactly where it belongs.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely has not been a smooth road—and looking back, I’m not sure I would want it to have been.
One of the biggest challenges was simply building something that didn’t really have a blueprint. Capone’s wasn’t designed to fit neatly into a category. We were trying to create an experience that combined exceptional food, history, atmosphere and hospitality in a way that was very different for our area. When you’re doing something people haven’t seen before, there are going to be people who don’t understand it at first.
There were also the realities that come with turning a vision into a business. Budgets don’t always cooperate with ideas. Construction takes longer than expected. Equipment breaks. Staffing is difficult. Costs change. You make decisions that work and others that teach you expensive lessons. And when your name and reputation are attached to something, it’s hard to ever truly clock out. There have been plenty of nights when the doors closed but my mind never did.
Probably the hardest lesson has been accepting that you can’t make everyone understand your vision—and you can’t be everything to everyone. Early on, I think I tried. Over time, I learned that sometimes protecting what you’re building means being willing to say no, even when saying yes would be easier.
There have absolutely been moments of exhaustion, frustration and doubt. There have been times when I’ve questioned decisions and wondered whether people would ever see what I could see so clearly in my head.
But every struggle forced us to get better.
We learned. We adapted. We raised our standards. And somewhere along the way I stopped measuring success simply by how busy we were and started measuring it by whether we were staying true to what we set out to build.
The road hasn’t been smooth, but the rough parts are responsible for a lot of what Capone’s has become. I think that’s true of most worthwhile things—you rarely appreciate the view quite as much when you didn’t have to climb to get there.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Capone’s?
Capone’s is difficult to describe in one sentence because we’ve never wanted to be just a restaurant. At its core, Capone’s is about creating an experience—one built around exceptional food, atmosphere, history, hospitality and the idea that going out to dinner should still feel special.
We specialize in scratch-made food and intentional dining. We make our fresh pasta, breads, sauces and many other components in-house, and we put a tremendous amount of thought into the ingredients we use and the way our food is prepared. Our menu ranges from traditional Italian-inspired dishes and premium steaks to seafood and other dishes that allow our kitchen to be creative. We also operate our own small-batch brewery, which gives us another opportunity to create something that is uniquely ours.
But the food is only part of Capone’s.
The entire property is designed around discovery and experience. The Prohibition-era atmosphere, hidden details, passwords and characters are meant to make guests feel like they’ve stepped somewhere completely unexpected. Then there is the 1933 Lounge, which takes that philosophy even further with a more intimate, exclusive environment centered around conversation, craftsmanship and old-school hospitality.
I think what sets us apart most is that we’re willing to do things the difficult way when we believe it’s the better way.
We don’t want to become a high-volume restaurant where turning tables as quickly as possible is the goal. We intentionally limit what we do so we can concentrate on doing it well. That philosophy carries through the kitchen, our small-batch brewing, our service and even the physical spaces we’ve created.
I’m probably most proud that Capone’s has developed an identity of its own. We haven’t tried to copy what works somewhere else or become a version of a national concept. We’ve built something that belongs here, and we’ve done it in a small Missouri community where people might not expect to find an experience like this.
That’s also what I want readers to understand about our brand: you don’t have to be in Chicago, New York, Kansas City or another major city to find people who care deeply about their craft. Some incredible things are being built in small towns all across America.
Ultimately, I don’t want someone to leave Capone’s simply saying, “That was a great meal.”
I want them to leave saying, “I’ve never been anywhere quite like that.”
If we can accomplish that, then we’re doing what we set out to do.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Something that surprises a lot of people is that Capone’s is only one part of my life. I’ve spent essentially my entire adult life in the fire service, and in many ways, that world has shaped the person I am and the way I run a business.
At first glance, firefighting and hospitality probably couldn’t seem more different. One involves walking into some of the worst moments of people’s lives, while the other is about creating some of their best. But I’ve learned that they actually have a lot in common.
Both are built around people. Both require trust, teamwork, attention to detail and the ability to stay calm when things don’t go according to plan. Most importantly, both are about service.
The fire service also gave me a very real appreciation for how quickly life can change. I’ve experienced moments that remind you there are no guarantees about tomorrow. That perspective has influenced Capone’s more than most people probably realize.
It’s part of why I’m so passionate about creating a place where people put their phones down, sit across from someone they care about, share a great meal, laugh, celebrate something and make a memory.
People may see the restaurant, the food, the atmosphere and all the details we’ve built around Capone’s. What they may not see is that underneath all of it is a lesson I learned somewhere completely different:
Time with people matters.
That’s ultimately what I’m trying to create more of.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Eldonhospitality.com/capones
- Instagram: caponeseldon
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CaponesEldon
