Missouri GOP Converts 'Spare' Office To Liquor Storage

by Jason Hancock, Missouri Independent
December 20, 2023

For four years, state Rep. Mike Stephens occupied prime real estate on the third floor of the Missouri Capitol.

His office in room 306B certainly wasn’t the biggest in the space-starved statehouse, where staff often work out of musty, windowless rooms, and many lawmakers are stacked on top of each other in non-ADA compliant mezzanines.

But Stephens’ office was steps away from the House chamber. And it was the only one besides the speaker’s with direct access to the House Lounge — a room adorned with a Thomas Hart Benton mural where conference committees, leadership meetings and press conferences are often held.

For decades, it was reserved for the chairman of the House budget committee, but in more recent years was occupied by senior Republicans. Entering into his final term in the House, it was a relatively safe bet that Stephens would finish his legislative career in the coveted office space.

But in late 2022, he got word he’d be moving down the hall.

House Speaker Dean Plocher took over that space and converted it into what has been jokingly referred to as his “butler’s pantry,” a makeshift storage room stocked with liquor, beer, wine and soda to complement the supply in his office.

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