By MINDY KEPFIELD

Staff writer

Patrons catching a buzz at Fuzzy’s Place can get some grub to go with it.

The Florence watering hole now has a menu of burgers, fries and other food to go with an evening of games and live music.

The night spot sells canned and bottled beer and wine coolers.

Owner Mary Shipman said she and her son-in-law and partner, Jim Shipman, considered serving food for some time before they rolled out a menu this summer.

The final push was a party of eight that asked for food after an afternoon of drinking.

“They called me at home and asked me to make some tacos and bring them down,” she said. “I said, ‘Sure, I’ll have to run to the store.’ ”

The group called her at home minutes later and said they had decided to get dinner in El Dorado.

“That was the final straw. We thought, ‘Well we’re going to build a kitchen,’ ” she said. “That way if somebody has been drinking and wants to eat, they can eat here.”

Hungry truckers have become regulars of Fuzzy’s Place along with visitors who try their luck at Texas hold ’em on Thursday nights.

Sam Unruh, Ricky Fugitt, and the Matt Engels Band are a few live acts that have played Fuzzy’s as its popularity spread.

“You would be surprised how many people we get from out of town,” Shipman said. “We get people from Marion, Peabody, Burns. We’ve got a regular from Dodge City who drives in once a month just to check us out.”

The décor is an eclectic mix of items donated by patrons and friends.

Mary’s husband, Ron “Fuzzy” Shipman, points out a wall where visitors from 17 states have signed their names.

An old Florence High School letter jacket decorates a wall as do sports logos painted by a friend.

Patrons play games in the bar’s back yard well in to the evening, Ron Shipman said.

“This is our playground,” he said pointing out a row of horseshoe pits, “The lights come on at night. They are solar.”

“You would be surprised at how many people play horseshoes at night,” Mary Shipman said.

Florence’s former mayor, Mary Shipman now serves as a city council member. The couple opened the bar two years ago.

“The building was cheap,” she said. “Ronnie’s lived here all his life, and I’ve lived here for 53 years, and Florence needs businesses.”

Fuzzy’s Place is open 5 p.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.