Speck's Bar & Grill

Photos by Allison Beebe & Hope Dimick

“My dad told my mom he’d only have the bar for a year.” That was 1957 when Frank “Speck” Benge and Lou Benge bought Seabrook Tavern at 2105 SW Mission. Now, 65 years later, Speck’s Bar and Grill still challenges folks to eat their 3-pound burger and 3 pounds of fries! Frank’s daughter Deb Harrod bought the bar when her dad became ill in the late 80s.

“I always wanted it as a kid,” she said. “Even though I went to school for horticulture, I wanted to own the bar. We lived next door, so this was part of our childhood. We’d run over here and sneak some beer from the tap.”

Over the years, Deb leased the bar out to new management a couple of times in order to step away and concentrate on raising her small children, but it seemed to always pull her back in. Then she stepped back in once again in July 2009 and renamed the bar Speck’s Bar and Grill—in honor of her father.

With good food and friendly service, it wasn’t long before the regulars started coming back.

Kent Hall, former cook and still regular customer, says it’s always been a great place for people to just relax and enjoy themselves.

“It’s a great place to come. People are nice and it’s comfortable. And the food is always good, “he said

Fun fact: The canned beer in the cooler is turned upside down as a nod to her father who would clean fish on top of the cooler after a day of fishing. The cans were stored upside down to keep them clean.