A unique Springfield restaurant is adding an extra ingredient to its already popular menu.  Casper's is inviting the community to help celebrate this milestone.

The old shack on Historic Walnut Street may not look like much., but inside, it's a special place for many.

Not just because it's filled the stomach for decades, but it's helped connect families.

If variety is the spice of life, then Casper's is the tamale of restaurants.

"It's something unique to Springfield that is disappearing all the time," Casper's regular Scott Martin said.

The popular eatery has been connecting generations. "I've been coming to Casper's since i was a little boy with my dad," Martin said. "I can remember not being able to see over this counter."

With bowls of chili since the early 1900's. Casper's owner Belinda Harriman exclaimed. "I think I'm astounded that anything this small place could last a hundred years."

Now Harriman is cooking up a big bash to celebrate what historians consider the city's oldest restaurant.  And what customers say is an eclectic piece of Springfield history.

"it's the place where you can sit down and have the head of a corporation on one side and a homeless man on the other side," Martin said.

It's the atmosphere, food, and friendly staff that head cook Etta Mae Buckner says has provided extra flavor to the lives of so many.

"We had a couple came in with another man and they got married. Right in the middle of lunch hour."

Saturday starting at 10:30 a.m., Casper's will host a 100th anniversary celebration.

It will include live music, entertainment, and of course the famous chili.

The chili and conies will be on sale for a dollar. That's one penny for every year the restaurant has been open.

Harriman says she's also collecting stories about the restaurant and it's history.

She says if she gets enough, she plans to write about Casper's from those stories.

If you have a story about Casper's that you would like to contribute, you can e-mail Harriman at caspersone@mchsi.com