Most Missouri towns grew slowly, farm by farm. Moberly did not. When the railroad put a junction here in 1866, a town named for railroad executive Colonel William E. Moberly appeared around it almost overnight. People said it rose like magic, and the nickname stuck: the Magic City.
A railroad town through and through
Moberly became a division point with repair shops that employed generations of railroaders. The rail yard still works today, and the town keeps its history close: there is a Railroad Museum, and Rothwell Park runs a miniature train called the Magic City Line for the kids.
Old Highway 63
Before the bypass, US Highway 63 ran straight through town on what is now the Business route, North Morley Street. For decades it carried everyone traveling between Columbia and Kirksville past Moberly's front doors. Our cafe sits right on that strip at 1714 N Morley St, where the through-town traffic always stopped for breakfast.
Worth a wander
If you have an hour after breakfast: the Railroad Museum, Rothwell Park, and the 4th Street Theater, a vaudeville house from 1913 that still stands downtown. Moberly is also the hometown of General Omar Bradley.
Start with breakfast
Open at 5:30 AM Monday through Saturday, 7:30 on Sunday.