I’ve been slipping back into the booth at Busy Bee Café in Springfield for years now—not often, but enough to know that it still feels exactly the same as it did when I worked there twenty-five years ago. Back around the year 2000, when I was nineteen and scrubbing dishes in the back, you could still smoke in restaurants. The air was thick with a gray haze of cigarette smoke, the clink of silverware, and the steady rhythm of the grill turning out plates piled high with eggs, bacon, and biscuits.
The smoke is long gone now, but the soul of Busy Bee hasn’t changed a bit. The red vinyl booths and checkered floors still have that 1950s diner charm—the kind that feels like home the moment you step through the door. There’s a comforting hum inside, a mix of conversation, laughter, and the sound of coffee being poured. The mugs are still heavy and warm, and the servers still know when to top them off before you even have to ask.
Busy Bee has a long history in Springfield. Long before I was even born, it started out as an ice cream parlor in the 1950s, then became a 24-hour restaurant that went through a few names before eventually becoming Busy Bee. Over the years, it’s seen mill workers, students, families, and generations of locals who have kept it buzzing day after day.
When longtime owner Boyd decided to move on, Meg Holiday took over the café in October of 2022. She and her husband—who also run Slice Pizzeria and John Henry’s in Eugene—spent the winter bringing new life to the place. There weren’t many changes over the decades, but Holiday gave the floors, kitchen, and bathrooms some well-deserved updates. Busy Bee stayed closed until April 2023, when it officially reopened its doors to the community.
Holiday said her goal was simple: she wanted the regulars to walk in and say, “It looks the same, but something’s different.” And that’s exactly what happened. The place still feels like the same old Busy Bee—it just has a little extra shine now…