It all started on a small farm in the Bootheel of Southeast Missouri back in the 1940's. Kelso, Missouri, to be exact. Maybe you've heard of the famous kettle beef and chicken & dumplings served at every wedding reception held at the Kelso Knights of Columbus Hall for the past half century. Maybe not. There's not much in Kelso except hard-working people hoping for good weather and a bumper crop that never seems to come around quite as often as needed. Lambert Drury and his sons supplemented their farm income (when there was any) with plastering jobs on the side. Soon their reputation for doing quality work at a reasonable price allowed them to grow the business into a full-time venture. First some tile jobs, then some small construction jobs. Always focused on quality, service, innovation and value. You see, Lambert Drury wouldn't have it any other way.
Things didn't always go according to plan. Like the time when they hauled the sand for a plaster job in the back of a truck that had just dropped off a load of soybeans. Two days after the initial plaster coat had been troweled, you can imagine the surprise of the homeowners who found their walls had started to sprout soybeans. The Drury brothers made the job right for the customer and learned a valuable lesson about truck beds that would later provide the foundation for a successful hotel operation: Things can never be too clean.
The Drury's built their very first hotel, a Holiday Inn, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. After making money on the rooms side of the business only to lose it all on the restaurant and lounge side, they settled on a new hotel concept that separated the rooms from the food & beverage operations. The first Drury Inn opened in Sikeston, Missouri, with a rate of $10.88. The Drury brothers had learned that you always give the customer more than what they could get at any other hotel -- that's how you keep them coming back. Cleaner rooms, friendlier team members, and extras that don't cost extra.