Pretty Boy Floyd’s in Ellsworth: ‘Premium dining, six feet under’

It’s a town made famous by Texas cattle drives and such Wild West legends as Wyatt Earp and Wild Bill Hickok. Today the town of about 3,000 sits in some of the finest ranch lands in the nation.

So when Mark and Josie Roehrman opened a new steak house in Ellsworth, they named it … Pretty Boy Floyd’s. Yep, after one of the most notorious gangsters and bank robbers of the 1930s.

“We didn’t want to do the cowboy thing because everybody had done the cowboy thing to death,” said Josie Roehrman, who opened the restaurant with her late husband in 2012. “The (prohibition-era) gangster thing just kind of fit the theme of what we were doing.”

The underground restaurant in the small town about 90 miles northwest of Wichita is modeled after a prohibition-era speakeasy, at least those portrayed by Hollywood. Guests access the restaurant through a back alley, head down some steps and then along a winding hall of brick and stone. The decor fits the theme, with 1930s-era photographs, images of Tommy Gun-toting criminals, flappers, bags of money and dollar bills. An old boat in a corner has a set of cement shoes. The menus have faux bullet holes.

In terms of food, however, it’s doubtful many places that served illegal alcohol in the 1920s also offered juicy Black Angus steaks the size of Sunday dinner pot roasts, or things like seared Ahi tuna, mahi-mahi and pasta dishes.

“That’s why we call it ‘Premium dining, six feet under,’” Roehrman said.

She explained that it’s far from the first time enjoyment was found in the tunnels beneath the once rollicking 1870s cowtown, which apparently held its party-hardy ways for a few more decades.

“This used to be a men’s-only area under all of these buildings, interconnected to the old hotels. It was kind of a secret place,” she said. “We’re not sure what all went on down there, but you can imagine. We do know one of our rooms used to be a bowling alley. There’s a bowling score on the wall from back in 1907.”

Together the Roehrmans, longtime Ellsworth residents, worked years cleaning out some of the old underground rooms and passage ways. Some, she said, had to be gutted down to dirt floors and totally rebuilt.

The owner of a construction company, Mark Roehrman knew his way around equipment and structural repairs. The couple did all but a few equipment installations themselves. When the construction company was destroyed in a fire that damaged much of downtown Ellsworth about three years ago, the Roehrmans decided to go full-speed ahead with a theme-based restaurant and bar.

The most popular drink from the latter surely fits the theme from back in the day when buying alcohol was illegal. The place’s full name is Pretty Boy Floyd’s Steak and Shine, for a reason.

“Yes, we sell moonshine and we do a lot of moonshine martinis. We’re kind of known for them,” Roehrman said. “We have regular moonshine, and apple pie, lemon, cherry and strawberry moonshine.” No, they don’t make their own. She said it’s commercially made in Tennessee, and purchased through a local liquor store. An assortment of wine and beer also is available.

She said they knew all along it would be the place’s food that drove the business.

“Mark and I were both business people, so we knew how to run a successful business. But we knew we had to figure out how to cook,” she said with a laugh.

Beef, from burgers to 24-ounce porterhouse steaks and big, barrel-shaped fillets, makes up most of the business, Roehrman said. She said they serve only certified Angus beef.

“People really do pay attention to that, the quality of the beef,” she said. The menu also serves a wide variety of pork, chicken and fish. Entrees range from $8 to $40.

Since it’s hardly the fare of most small-town eating establishments, Roehrman said Pretty Boy Floyd’s relies heavily on out-of-town clients. Great Bend and Salina, sizable cities compared to Ellsworth, are within an hour and provide many clients. Some come from as far away as Wichita and Oklahoma City, including those who arrive by private plane then bum a ride to the restaurant from the airport.

Those who arrive find the setting and theme to be modeled after the Roaring ’20s, but the atmosphere at Pretty Boy Floyd’s is pretty relaxed. Though the restaurant can seat 105, such numbers are seldom seen. Even on a busy night, though, most guests can enjoy a quiet meal, sometimes in relative seclusion.

Customers are seated in three connected rooms. Two rooms have traditional seating at tables that can be joined to accommodate sizable groups. On a fall Friday evening, 21 guests gathered at one long setting for a family reunion. Roehrman, however, seems particularly proud of a room partitioned into private booths for those seeking a more intimate experience.

“You can’t see anybody else, nobody else can bother you. It’s completely romantic,” she said. “I know there were times when I went out with Mark, I just wanted to enjoy being out with Mark. I’m glad we can offer something special like that to our customers.”

This story was originally published November 27, 2014 at 8:22 PM with the headline "Pretty Boy Floyd’s in Ellsworth: ‘Premium dining, six feet under’."