Standing in the old Pizza Kwik restaurant, almost 50 years of memories surrounded Judy Huber.
In 1969, she and her late husband, Robert "Greasy Bob" Huber, opened Pizza Kwik in the building at 1121 E. Miller St. One and a half years after the business closed and four years after the death of her husband, the building has been sold to a new owner.
Bob Huber died in July 2015, but the family kept the pizza shop open until Dec. 23, 2017.
Monday afternoon, Judy and daughter Dana Plummer were in the shop, selling the tables and chairs many Jefferson City residents have likely sat in over the years, as well as some kitchen equipment, signs and other items.
"It's very low-key," Plummer said, standing behind the counter. "We're just taking our things out, kind of a last hurrah."
The building that for years was full of hot pizza, cold beers and friendly faces sits vacant today but for old tables and chairs, a counter and some kitchen equipment, including two big pizza ovens. What was once a popular hangout for pizza lovers is now gone. However, looking around Monday, it was easy to see it as it once was.
Photos and signs still cover some of the walls. White pizza boxes are stacked behind the counter. Two Coca-Cola menu boards hang above where the register once was, offering sodas for $1 or two small pizzas for $15.90.
Some dirt and leaves on the floor drew Judy's attention as she looked around.
She said the debris probably came in through the smokestack above the ovens during the May 22 tornado in Jefferson City.
"I didn't leave it like that!" she said. "I came in and thought, 'Oh, what is this?'"
Judy moved to Wichita, Kansas, to live with her daughter about a year ago. However, the family still owned the properties, as they had for almost 50 years.
Bob and Judy first bought the house next door to what would become Pizza Kwik but was, at the time, an old furnace shop. Judy worked at the Missouri Highway Patrol General Headquarters, and Bob had a job at a corner grocery store.
"We decided to buy it," Judy said. "(Bob) had always wanted a pizza shop, and Arris' was the only one in town. So we were lucky and brave enough to do it. We had a good business for years and years."
The Hubers opened Pizza Kwik in 1969, and until 2017 they offered thin-crust pizzas, sodas and beer to many in the area. When Bob died after a battle with cancer, many recalled him, Judy and Pizza Kwik with fond memories and laughter. Many remembered Bob's funny and friendly personality.
"He was the talker, she was the worker," Plummer said Monday of her parents, laughing.
Along with the restaurant, the Hubers also owned the properties on either side - the house and a small apartment building. Those were also purchased by the new owner.
"It's sad for us, but it's a necessity," Plummer said.
Plummer hopes selling the buildings isn't the end of Pizza Kwik.
"It's still our dream to have another Pizza Kwik and continue the tradition," Plummer said. "I don't think we're giving up; I just don't think it'll be at this location."
The new owner of the buildings couldn't be reached by the News Tribune on Monday to discuss future plans.