Saying goodbye: After 44 years, Mister B's in Germantown has closed

Oh the stories. Theresa Baker-Penninger, the owner of Mister B's restaurant, is full of them. After close to 50 years in operation, Mister B’s has hosted and fed everyone from neighbors to recording artists to award-winning football players. It has been a gathering place for so many over the decades.

"People knew that we were a quaint, quiet place to eat where no one would bother them," explained Baker-Penninger on Wednesday as she and her daughter Breanna Bond reminisced about the restaurant. "I look back on all the wonderful people I had the honor to meet."

On Dec. 28, the era came to an end when Baker-Penninger quietly closed the doors to this beloved Germantown institution.

The decision to close was a hard one for Baker-Penninger. Two years ago she had a back surgery and was told by her physician she would need to get out of the restaurant business or risk being in a wheelchair for life. For the past couple years, she did not heed his warning; but she finally came to the conclusion that she needed to follow his recommendation rather than risk her health.

On Wednesday, the 100-seat restaurant looked just like it normally does before opening for dinner. Baker-Penninger is hopeful that she will sell the business.

“I have several offers on the table,” she said. “But I am being particular. I want to make sure the person who buys it does not change anything.”

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44 years of history

Dick Baker, a former vice president of Dobbs House, opened the original Mister B’s when he retired from his corporate job. The year was 1975, and the restaurant was located at Winchester and Perkins. The restaurant started as a hobby and a gathering place for his friends, but soon became a dining destination.

Baker had brought with him two of the cooks who had been with him since the late 1940s when he worked at Dobbs House. Essie McIntyre and Earnestine Chapman, affectionately known as Miss Essie and Miss Earnestine by Baker-Penninger, developed the recipes that put Mister B’s on the map.

When Baker decided to officially retire for good in 1995, customers begged for the restaurant not to close. At that time, his two sons and their wives decided to move the restaurant to its current location in Germantown.

“The four of us worked on opening the new location,” said Baker-Penninger. “My sister-in-law Debbie Baker has such an eye for decor. She was the imagination and talent behind the restaurant’s fun decor.”

The restaurant thrived in the new location, with Baker-Penninger taking the helm.

Baker-Penninger had started at the original Mister B’s when she first moved back to Memphis. “I have been here 29 years,” she said.

At one point, Dick Baker had told her, “You are the only one who will ever be able to keep this place going.”

At the time she says she thought he was crazy, but when she divorced Brett Baker, she knew she had to take over the restaurant to take care of her family.

“Where there is a will, there is a way,” said Baker-Penninger.

Cajun seafood, steaks and more

Mister B’s was known for its Cajun seafood and colossal steaks. Dishes like Fried Shrimp and Celestial Chicken were customer favorites.

“People loved the George Lapides Special,” Baker-Penninger said. “He liked our Crawfish Etouffee over wild rice instead of as a soup. He started talking about it on his radio show and people started asking for it that way so we put it on the menu.”

A nautical-themed bar that seats 10 was a popular neighborhood watering hole. A vintage jukebox added to the ambiance.

The service was friendly and welcoming with customers dining there several times a week. “We had one couple that would call us when they weren’t coming,” she said.

What’s next

Baker-Penninger’s next chapter will be all about family.

“After all these years working in the restaurant, I need to spend time with my family,” she said. “In fact, my husband and I joked that after 19 years we will need to get to know each other again.”

She also has a dream to open an art gallery. “I have friends that are artists, and my daughter Breanna is an amazing artist.”

And hopefully, Mister B’s will enter a new era with another owner at the helm.

Jennifer Chandler is the Food & Dining reporter at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at jennifer.chandler@commercialappeal.com and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @cookwjennifer.