Redkey Indiana: John Shambarger Restaurant

: Due to its massive popularity, reservations often had to be booked one to two years in advance . The Dining Experience

When John took over in 1963, he elevated this eccentricity into a national phenomenon: John Shambarger Restaurant Redkey Indiana

The restaurant’s roots date back to 1929, when John’s father, , a butcher from Muncie, bought an old saloon in downtown Redkey during the Great Depression. Tom’s approach was simple: he served what he thought guests wanted and charged them what he thought they could afford. : Due to its massive popularity, reservations often

in Redkey, Indiana, was a legendary dining destination that defied every convention of the restaurant industry from the 1960s through the early 1980s. Led by the eccentric John Shambarger , it transformed a humble, rundown building beside a railroad track into a "fun house" of gourmet food and vaudeville-style performance that attracted celebrities and dignitaries from across the globe. A Legacy of Eccentricity in Redkey, Indiana, was a legendary dining destination

A meal at Shambarger’s was an all-night marathon, often consisting of 7 to 13 courses and lasting . Restaurant as fun house: Shambarger's

: From the outside, the building looked abandoned or like a "junk shop". Inside, it was packed with antiques, mirrors, and lamps—all of which were for sale, including the dishes diners ate from.