Drugs Are Not on the Menu

Jonathan Justus and his wife opened Justus Drugstore: A Restaurant last year "on land that's been in his family since 1842."

The high-end restaurant, whose name is a play on drugstores his grandfather and mother operated across the street, has since drawn rave reviews and is scheduled to be featured in Bon Appetit and Food & Wine magazines this summer.

But the state of Missouri says they can't have "drugstore" in the name unless there's a licensed pharmacist on the premises.

The state inspector who showed up just before Memorial Day apparently wasn't mollified that "restaurant" was part of the name and is prominently featured on the restaurant's signs.

"I told her that the intent of the law is clear," Justus said, recalling his conversation with the inspector. "She jumped all over me and said that someone could come to us thinking they were getting medical advice from a professional." [Link]

Here's a tip: if the pharmacist offers you a wine list, don't ask him for medical advice.

Cemetery Ceremony Leads to Slippery Slope

A couple has received permission to marry in a Pacific, Missouri, cemetery in September. Though neither has ancestors buried there, they reportedly found the setting "charming" and "peaceful." If one Pacific alderman has his way, it will be the first and last marriage solemnized there.

"Once you let that horse out of the barn, people could ask to do anything out there," said Alderman William Hohman. "You've got various cults running around, and we don't want to get into that nonsense." [Link]