Local, Independent Bookstores in the City of St. Louis 5:17 PM

Recently, St. Louis accomplished something its detractors never thought it could. It placed near the top of a positive list--Most Literate Cities.

While #11 overall is not too shabby, St. Louis scored particularly high in the "Libraries" (#2) categories as well as the "Booksellers" (#8) category.

Wait...booksellers? This certainly had to be a regional measure, which would include the many chain bookstores that litter the metropolitan region.

This list gave me the idea to look at St. Louis's offerings in this category. But I wanted to focus on the city of St. Louis and in particular its local, independent booksellers of the non-adult variety. Below is a list of places in the city where you can flaunt your literacy, among the Top 11 in the country.

THE ARCHIVE

Neighborhood: Benton Park West
213-15 Cherokee Street
Saint Louis, MO 63118
(314)288-0712
(800)604-8122
fax: (314)288-0657
email: info@archivescribe.com
Website: http://archivescribe.com/

This is St. Louis's newest independent book store, located on an evolving stretch of Cherokee Street on the Benton Park West side. I wanted to highlight this one first because it needs its presence known the most as the new kid on the block. Plus, my heart bleeds endlessly for Cherokee Street. I just love that you can now stroll the stroll and peruse rare used books, buy an STL-Style t-shirt, gawk at antique medical equipment, watch printmakers at work, thumb through metal records, lug home some used furniture and other trinkets, etc. I digress, badly. When I was last in town, the shop was not quite open yet, but that didn't stop the owner (didn't get his name...) from letting me in for a little tour and browsing. It looked well stocked then. Please visit and support your Cherokee Street bookstore...or else suffer a slide in the rankings on next year's Most Literate Cities study! You wouldn't want to be responsible for that, would you?

HAMMOND'S BOOKS

Neighborhood: Benton Park/Antique Row
1939 Cherokee Street
St. Louis, MO 63118
314-776-4737
800-776-4732
info@hammondsbooks.net
Website: http://www.hammondsbooks.net/


Okay...so the Archive isn't Cherokee Street's only bookstore. Hammond's has been around for a while and specializes in rare and out of print books. It fits in well with its antique surroundings, as many of their books are antiques themselves. Hammond's has limited hours, so make sure to call ahead.

DUNAWAY BOOKS

Neighborhood: Tower Grove South/Heights
3111 South Grand
 St. Louis, MO 63118
 Phone: (314) 771 - 7150
info@dunawaybooks.com
Website: http://www.dunawaybooks.com/

South Grand, to me, lacks the needed retail element to truly make the district pop. Dunaway Books, though, is one of the most authentic and cool businesses on the strip. This has to be St. Louis largest independent bookstore, with a jam-packed main floor and a basement to boot. Please support Dunaway to keep South Grand viable. Hopefully the street's more pedestrian-friendly layout will give Dunaway some extra foot traffic.


LEFT BANK BOOKS




Neighborhoods: Central West End, Downtown
399 N. Euclid
St. Louis, MO 63108
314-367-6731

and

321 N. 10th
St. Louis, MO 63101
314-436-3049

Website: http://www.left-bank.com/

Left Bank Books probably needs no introduction. Most city residents know of it. But that doesn't mean, come Black Friday, most residents shop there. Left Bank has had something of a shaky history, having nearly shuttered several times. Originally a counter-culture bookstore located in the Loop, Left Bank was rescued from the brink of closure and moved to the Central West End, where it remains today. Due to Craig Heller's brilliance and generosity, a subsidized store now exists downtown. Left Bank's plight is a case in point: local booksellers need your support whenever possible. Remember that their products are the same as Barnes and Noble and Borders, yet their level of customer service and neighborhood-oriented settings simply make the shopping experience more pleasant than any corporate one. During the real estate and investment bubble of the mid 2000s, I recall Mayor Slay trumpeting news of a Borders scouting a downtown location. I can safely say I'm glad they didn't move in now that Left Bank anchors downtown. Left Bank's profits stay in St. Louis.

LEGACY BOOKS AND CAFE

Neighborhood: Academy
5249 Delmar Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63108
314-862-4226

So I admit: I've never been to this store. Reviews of it sound great, though. It seems to be a combination book store and coffee shop--a concept that's popular here in Baltimore but not so much in St. Louis. It seems rather social justice-oriented, too, which is excellent in my book. It's already on my list of places to try when I return to St. Louis.


NOT JUST A BOOKSTORE

Neighborhood: Skinker-DeBaliviere
5892 Delmar Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63112
314-361-9955
Website: http://www.notjustabookstore.net

Here's yet another "Far East Loop" bookstore I've never been to. As the name suggests, it's not merely about books, but empowerment through literacy--very fitting for the study that inspired this post. Does anyone have the scoop on this business, located in the Delmar Design District?

--------------

A personal favorite of mine is the American Institute of Architects (AIA) bookstore downtown on Washington Avenue. There are a handful of comic book stores left in the city as well. Does anyone else know of any specialty book stores in the city? We can't forget Subterranean Books, located just outside the city in the Loop.

One more thing...a fond farewell to one of the region's coolest book stores ever:  Library Limited in downtown Clayton, swallowed by the corporate campus of Centene.

Final reflection here: support your local, independent book store because 1) our city will be less cool if you do not and 2) we will not rank as highly on "lists" with dubious criteria. That's all.

UPDATE (2/22/10): An adroit reader caught that I missed a specialty book store--Big Sleep Books on Euclid in the Central West End, which specializes in mystery novels. Thanks!

You May Now Purchase the Downtown Gift Card Online 10:18 AM

In furtherance to a recent post, you can now click here, on the Downtown St. Louis Partnership's website, to purchase a gift card that applies only to one of more than 100 businesses located downtown.

What's the point? To keep holiday spending downtown! The holidays are a make-or-break point for retail stores, especially. This is why "Black Friday", the day after Thanksgiving, is so-named: it's the first day of the year that retailers jump out of the red and starting making a profit! With that in mind, please remember to patronize local businesses, who must compete against corporate stores often with longer hours and sometimes with lower prices. Our unique local businesses reflect St. Louis and no where else. A good local business will offer a better or different product from the national retailers and will hopefully provide you better service as well.

Now, the Downtown Gift Card applies to a couple chains/non-locals (Macy's is absent, notably), including most of the stores at Union Station. Still, purchasing this gift card allows you to introduce someone to downtown and, with any luck, one of its unique and independent businesses. You just might help a unique piece of St. Louis culture stay afloat! Bravo and good holiday cheer!

Finish Your Holiday Shopping in Mere Minutes: Downtown St. Louis Gift Cards 6:36 PM

Downtown St. Louis is debuting "Downtown St. Louis Gift Cards" this Monday, November 23, 2009.

You may purchase one between the amounts of $5 and $500 and finish your holiday shopping in as long as it takes to order the gift card. The card will be accepted at at least 100 establishments downtown right out of the gate with more to come soon after. The card can only be used downtown and will keep money circulating downtown. This list of 100 includes restaurants, shops, and services all alike. See the bottom of this post for current participants.

If you're interested in a Downtown Gift Card, contact Matt Schindler at mschindler@downtownstl.org or 314-436-6500 ext. 223. It is unclear right now whether the cards will be available for purchase at some or all of the participating retailers and restaurants (or whether you'll have to order one directly from Mr. Schindler). I guess we will find out when the card debuts on November 23, 2009.

I think this idea is excellent. While it might be even better to include only downtown-specific businesses or non-chains, the effect could still be great. Imagine giving the downtown gift card to a relative of yours that has given up on downtown. Suggest that they take a stroll around UMA or Salt of the Earth, or buy some lunch at Flannery's. They just might be surprised at the progress of downtown--and might come back and spend more, with or without a card.

I applaud this effort of the Downtown St. Louis Partnership. It would be great to see a local business-specific gift card arise for St. Louis City and perhaps the County as well. Maybe next year...

Here are the presently participating businesses:

6 North Coffee Company
12th Street Animal Hospital & Boutique
12th Street Diner
American Institute of Architects (AIA) Store
Anthony’s
Baladas
Brewhouse
Beverly’s Hill
Boxers
Bridge & Tunnel Pizza (B&T)
Bubba Tea
Café Cioccolato
Capri Restaurant
Carmine's Steak House
Charlie Gitto's
Charm Boutique
City Gourmet
City Museum
Clark Street Grill
Culinaria - A Schnucks Market
Downtown Urgent Care
Edible Arrangements
Einstein's Bagels - St. Louis Union Station Marriott
El Borracho
Executive Salon
Flamingo Bowl
Flannery’s Irish Pub
Geechi's Florist
Gelateria Tavolini
Great Cuts
J. Buck’s
Jade
Kenary Park Florist & Gifts
Kitchen K
La Buena Salud
Lee J
Left Bank Books
Lombardo's Trattoria
Lucas Park Grille
Mama Figlia
MacroSun International
Mango
Marriott - St. Louis Union Station
McMurphy’s Grill
Mike Shannon’s Steaks & Seafood
Mosaic
Niche
Red
Renaissance Grand Hotel & Suites
Roberts Mayfair Hotel
Roberts Orpheum Theater
St. Louis Fitness Factory
Salt of the Earth
Starbucks - Hyatt Regency
Starbucks - Renaissance Hotel
Station Grille - St. Louis Union Station Marriott
Tony’s
Teutenberg’s
Washington Avenue Bistro
Westin Hotel
UMA
UPS Store
St. Louis Union Station
- Bud Shop
- The Candy Shop
- Cardinal Clubhouse
- Cardinal Rookie Clubhouse
- Charley's Steakery
- Culture Vibes
- Dog On It
- Edy's Grand Ice Cream
- Fat Sassy's
- The Fudgery
- Gateway News
- Gold & Diamonds
- Hard Rock Cafe
- Houlihan's
- Imani's
- Inspirations
- Key West Cafe
- Landry’s Seafood House
- The Lark
- Lids
- Marquess Gallery
- Missouri Threads
- Nestle Toll House Cookies
- Panda Express
- Photo Shop
- Pita King
- Play and Learn
- Quiznos
- Sbarro
- Shoes Etc.
- Sports Avenue
- St. Louis Jewelry
- St. Louis Taco & Grill
- St. Louis Union Station Parking (west or south lot)
- Subway
- Treasures
- Xtreme Game Play

More merchants still being added!

Dunkin Do-Not! 7:18 PM

I could understand some enthusiasm if long-absent-from-the-St.-Louis-area Dunkin Donuts, a chain based in Massachusetts, were reestablishing a presence in the Lou with a couple stores. A dozen would seem fitting, would it not?

According to this press release, Dunkin Donuts is planning over 100 stores for the St. Louis region over the next "several years". One hundred! Holey-donuts! My eyes just glazed over!

Is this a sweet surprise or a weighty issue?

Okay, I'll stop with terrible donut puns. But I won't stop Twittering and generally ranting about my disappointment over the Dunkin Donuts invasion into St. Louis.

I know, I know; realistically, how many of these could possibly come to the city proper anyway? If we falsely assume it's a function of population share, well, St. Louis City has about ten percent of the bloated region's population. So we can expect roughly ten stores in the city over whatever the next "several years" means. And the first stores to be opened won't be in the city--they're already confirmed for Kirkwood, Lambert Airport, and somewhere in northwest county.

I also know that many people really like Dunkin Donuts, as in, suggest they have a really good product. Well, I have just one warning for you people.


Remember these guys?




Yeah, they used to be this neat, cutting-edge, and actually urban chain of stores that popularized the custom coffee drink and forever enshrined the espresso machine into middle class hearts and minds. Then they decided to go on a expanza-bonanza and open up a million-and-a-half free-standing suburban stores as if an errant barista splattered soy-latte shrapnel every which way over the landscape. They became, well, a boxy blight and were punished for their aggressive expansion strategy, having been forced to close hundreds of "under-performing" stores recently, including a nearly brand new one on South Seventh adjacent to Soulard. (By the way, I don't delight in the fact that they closed; I just think you reap what you sow).


(Wait--why haven't I yet mentioned that other donut chain that, at least at one point, was in danger of collapse from over-expansion)




Anyway...

So now we have Dunkin Donuts aggressively re-entering the St. Louis market. There just has to be a point of oversaturation for (suburban-style, drive-through) donuts in St. Louis. I worry that the locals who have already toughed out one round of Dunkin might be the first to bite the bullet this time.


I'm thinking about:


My favorite in the city, World's Fair Donuts, cleverly named for its address (1904 S. Vandeventer):

View Larger Map

O'Fashion Donuts just down the road at 5120 Southwest.

View Larger Map

Donut Drive-In at 6525 Chippewa, with a newly restored original Route 66 sign!

View Larger Map

Two more interesting St. Louis donut stories for you to, ahem, digest:

-Eddie's Southtown Donuts (4701 S. Kingshighway) has torn down a nice Arts and Crafts home for a drive-through, in one of the city's most stable neighborhoods. More on that at St. Louis City Talk. But the lesson of the story is that, due to the city's zoning and haphazard preservation laws, we might see some Dunkin demolitions in order to fit that drive-through as well!


-John Donut Company (on S. Broadway in Kosciusko--I've never been) is apparently open from midnight until 1pm. Yes, it opens at midnight. Who knew you could get fresh donuts all night in a neighborhood with no residential population?


That's about all I can stomach talking about donuts at this point. Just remember to support St. Louis's unique local businesses. Their "corporate headquarters" are located right here in St. Louis, not Massachusetts.

Old Businesses 6:08 PM

Part of any city's history is its stock of local businesses--the kind that have remained planted despite decades of, for lack of a more colorful yet still bi-directional word, change.

St. Louis has plenty of ancient businesses still hanging on. Sadly, Hamilton Jewelers, formerly located downtown, is no longer one of them.

Can you help me expand my list? It doesn't even attempt to be exhaustive. Just a couple that came to my head and still more that I found through Googling something to the effect of "old" or "historic businesses in St. Louis"...

THE LIST
Name / Date / Current Neighborhood (may not be original)

John Baumann Safe Company / 1843 / Midtown on Locust

A.E. Schmidt Billiards Company / 1850 / The Patch (720 Koeln)

Luytie's Pharmacal Company / 1853 / Central West End (4200 Laclede)*
Note from reader: This business closed in 2001 and was turned into condos in 2004.

Hoffmeister Funeral Company / 1858 / Not sure where they're based currently...

South Public Super Market / 1870 / The Patch (7701 S. Broadway)

Fehlig Brothers Box and Lumber Co. / 1873 / Carr Square (1909 Cole)*

Carondelet Bakery / 1875 / The Patch (7726 Virginia)

Marx Hardware and Paint Company / 1875 (1891 at current location / Old North St. Louis (2501 North 14th)*

Hopmann Cornice Company / 1883 / St. Louis Place (2573 Benton Street)*


Rathbone Hardware / 1885 / The Patch (7625 S. Broadway)


Levine Hats / 1887 (at 923 Washington) / Garment District (1416 Washington Since 1987)*

Southern Commercial Bank / 1891 / Carondelet (7201 S. Broadway)

New Market Hardware / 1910 / Central West End (4064 Laclede Ave)*

Crown Candy Kitchen / 1913 / Old North St. Louis (1401 Saint Louis Ave.)

Gioia's Deli / 1918 / The Hill (1934 Macklind)

Gus' Pretzels / 1920 / Benton Park (1820 Lemp)^

The Hi-Pointe Theater / 1922 / Hi-Pointe (1005 McCausland)

Merb's Candies / circa 1930 / Dutchtown (4000 S. Grand)^

Trader Bob's Tattooing / 1930s / Fox Park (2529 S. Jefferson)

Dad's Cookie Company / 1938 / Dutchtown South (3854 Louisiana)^
Note: This one is interesting. This was actually a national franchise (I never knew) with over a dozen location in major cities across the country. Dad's St. Louis is the only one remaining as an independent business. All others have been closed or bought up by a larger company.

Globe Drugs Stores / 1939 / Gravois Park (2626 Cherokee)^

As I said, please help me add to my list! I'll update the post and give you credit.

UPDATE - Reader Submissions

* = Contributed by Andrew Faulkner. Read his excellent blog, Exquisite Struggle, here.

^ = Contributed by Toby Weiss. She, too, has an excellent blog, B.E.L.T..

Cornerstones Project - New Orleans 11:36 AM

The Cornerstones Project in New Orleans is another innovative, civic-boosting, history and heritage honoring pioneering project of the citizens of New Orleans.

It's essentially a "National Register of Historic Places" with a couple major differences. One, this Registry covers sites of cultural importance--community cornerstones--that are uniquely meaningful to life in New Orleans. And two, any citizen can nominate a site with relative ease.

Here is a short description from the site:

Generally in New Orleans, places have been designated as important landmarks based on their architectural significance or their role in official histories. We hope our featured cornerstones help you consider other ways spaces are meaningful to our communities, such as adding playful design and color to our streets, grounding cultural traditions, storing local histories, or offering a sense of neighborhood belonging.

Once someone nominates a site, if it's accepted, it appears on this sleek-looking city map:

From Miscellaneous Items

And here is a capture of what a particular feature of the Registry looks like. It's the Sound Cafe, where I discovered this project. Outside of the registered place, there is a cardboard sign standing to honor the place and tell of the project's intent.

From Miscellaneous Items

New Orleans' Tulane University assists in maintaining the site and adding nominated places to the Registry.


To me, this sounds like an excellent project for any willing St. Louis University urban affairs undergrads or any Urban Planning and Real Estate Development Master's Students.


Why? It celebrates the history and culture of a place that only a local would know and allows that place to be recognized for its contribution to the local scene. It bolsters small business, is potentially good for tourism and general civic image, and can foster the idea of a connected, holistic St. Louis.


I can think of several sites that would deserve recognition in St. Louis:

Crown Candy Kitchen - An Old North St. Louis mainstay that has remained open despite radical (and ongoing) neighborhood transformation throughout its nearly 100 year life span. Lots of other businesses deserve recognition for their dedication to their respective neighborhoods considering the turbulent change that St. Louis has undergone: Dad's Cookies in Dutchtown; the Carondelet Bakery in the Ivory Triangle; the South Public Market in the Patch; Hanneke Hardware on the Hill; and so many others.


Mokabe's - A gay community advocate and landmark.


The Royale - An unabashed St. Louis booster opens a bar that's a practical 3-D love letter to the city and is also the quintessential South Side hipster hangout.


Courtesy Diner - Right across the street, Courtesy is a place where everyone has a story. Staring across the street to the Royale, it is almost a statement on St. Louis's growth patterns. Itself an autocentric mid-century diner, and the Royale a turn of the century corner bar, their incongruity is a strange and somewhat uniquely St. Louis delight. Ditto for Uncle Bill's, by the way.


Plus there are those ineffable landmarks like the Bevo Mill and the Water Towers that probably need some registering as well.


And on, and on, and on. Anyone wanting to get this program started in St. Louis?

Lose an Institution, (Re)Gain an Institution 12:33 PM

Sadly, Hamilton Jewelers downtown--in business for 72 years--will be closing.

If you're depressed, take in the joy of a local restaurant classic's return. That's right. Sauce Magazine's "Scoop" blog reports that Chuy Arzola's, AKA Chuy's, will be reopening.

No, not in Dogtown, but in Midtown--in the space that Joe Boccardi's will soon be vacating inside the Coronado.

-1 for Downtown
+1 for Midtown
? for Dogtown

Old Chuy's...

Photo Source

Meet New Chuy's!

Photo Source

The Map Room: Benton Park 9:14 PM

I had such a wonderful time in St. Louis last weekend. Post San Luis Love-In, I was already pumped about the future of St. Louis as a place where people care and feel connected to the wider city.

Then I visited the Map Room in the Benton Park neighborhood. It's located at 1901 Withnell (at Lemp)--just a block or so south of the famous Gus' Pretzels and the Benton Park Cafe.

From Map Room

This is the front of the building. Note the 1960s remuddling to the storefront, which probably once featured amply open windows rather than these small, boxy ones. Actually, though, I think it gives the storefront more character and distinction. I'm happy the owner decided to keep them.

Hands down, this is my favorite coffee shop in the city, and perhaps my favorite local/independent business period.

The furniture is delightfully mismatched, yet cozy and cohesive. Yes, maps adorn the room in varying fashions (a St. Louis City map rests on the counter when you order). There's an outdoor patio that is bound to be popular in better weather. There's even a bubble machine outside.

I met the owner, Michele Floyd, who told me that the bubble machine represents a sort of reverse-broken windows theory.

She says, "Who would want to sell drugs when you've got bubbles blowing all around you?"

She plans to program the space seasonally to raise awareness about other cultures. The Map Room will rotate music and art depending on the culture being spotlighted. Poetry readings and live music may be in the future as well.

There's a large menu of both coffee and liquor (and some combinations of the two). If you're looking for food, you may have to try elsewhere in Benton Park--unless, of course, you're planning a picnic in Benton or Cherokee Park (across the street), since the Map Room prepares Picnic Baskets with various meats and cheeses.

The space is beautiful, inviting, and totally unique to St. Louis. This type of business is what will attract creative people looking for urban living amenities to St. Louis.

Please stop by the Map Room as soon and as often as possible for what is bound to be a Benton Park classic for years to come.

From Map Room

An interior shot. Sorry for the blurriness.


Trust me: this place does not stink!

From Map Room

Southampton (SoHa) chugs along despite the economy. 12:13 PM

I love pouring through neighborhood newsletters. They're the perfect way to find out the news that's too small-scale to make it to the Post-Dispatch, or even to many local blogs, yet also the news that's important to that specific neighborhood.

The January 2009 Southampton Neighborhood News contains this piece on a couple new businesses opening (opened?) in the growing Macklind Business District:

We’re pleased to announce that two new businesses are opening along Macklind Avenue. This time in the building across from Tom Bess Automotive. Be sure to stop in to welcome them to the neighborhood when you walk by.

After working in commercial photography for the May Company, Joe Nuelle is opening his own studio, Nuelle Photography at 4917 Macklind. Asked why he chose Macklind Avenue, Joe says, “I live in the neighborhood and can see how that strip is growing. It’s great to see all of the neighborhood support of the independent businesses and I hope to be a part of that. I love to see successful businesses that are not chain franchises.” Keep Joe in mind when you need family photos, a nice picture of your home or publicity photos.

Legal advice and assistance is now only a walk away. Southampton resident Peter Van Leunen and his law partner James Eason are opening Eason & Van Leunen, LLC, a general practice law firm at 4915 Macklind. Peter explains that they will handle civil and criminal matters. Both look forward to providing the community with excellent legal services. Please contact them at 481-4646 if you are in need of their services.

Also opening on Macklind Avenue with offices, classroom and performance space in the
Southampton Presbyterian Church is the Academy and Performing Arts Center slated to open the last week of January. Please see the accompanying article on page three. Registration for classes is now open.

Two observations: I am always happy to hear someone speak directly to the issue of supporting local and independent businesses; and it's also great to see a neighborhood promote walking so much! [see the bolded sections]

Shop St. Louis City! 2:50 PM

While we're celebrating Highway Closure Month, the City (specifically, St. Louis Development Corp.) has decided to try and capture some of the retail sales pie from wayward motorists taking confusing exits into strange urban street grids for the first time in their lives.

The result is wonderful!

Shop St. Louis City!

It's a practical guide for shoppers, focusing exclusively on the city. The majority of the listings are local businesses.

Please use this guide to assist you in your holiday shopping.

Thanks SLDC!

Macklind Business District: tackling the challenges of running a local, independent business together 3:00 PM

The Macklind Business District is not especially attractive. It can't claim the grandeur of South Grand, nor the gritty urbanity of Cherokee, nor the opulence of Euclid. Most of the businesses along the stretch are housed by urban, but understated one-story commercial buildings.

But make no mistake. There's something very special about Macklind after all.

Four of its businesses have decided to cooperatively take on a poor retail environment in St. Louis City. First, which four am I talking? Nope, not the delightful neighborhood hang out at Murdoch Perk, a much needed coffee shop in the heart of the middle class Southampton neighborhood. And no, not Macklind Avenue Deli, which is both a wonderful deli and something of an upscale liquor store.

The first is Manzo's Kitchen at 5346 Devonshire (at Macklind). It's a business that's been around for over 50 years selling Italian meats and groceries. Though it's housed in a small storefront, it's a nice neighborhood grocer/lunch spot/deli counter that's eminently walkable.

The second is Nature's Aglow II, next door to Manzo's at 5350 Devonshire. The first thing you'll notice about this place is the unbelievably friendly staff (ask for Darla!). The storefront, again, is small, but the place packs a surprising amount of gift store wallop. The centerpiece of the shop's offerings is organic candles. Sound too frou-frou for your much more dressed down significant other? Well, take one of their fact sheets about traditional candles and see if you ever buy one again! Apparently, burning a traditional candle in your house is like parking a semi in your house, while running, for a whole day! Even if you don't buy that, give these candles a chance. Next to the hundreds of candle scents are various sundries that make excellent birthday or anniversary surprises. Where else in the city of St. Louis can you do one-stop shopping without a car quite so easily?

The Big River Running Company storefront at Macklind and Nottingham. Photograph from their website, linked below.

The third is Big River Running Company at 5352 Devonshire. They're an athletic store that specializes in running/jogging gear. They'll even make you strut your stuff, observe your gait, and recommend the proper shoe. Right now, and until November 22, they're having "Store Wars", pitting their West County location against this, their walkable (or runnable?) South City store. Bring in five or more canned goods and earn a chance at a $100 Big River Running gift certificate. And please, help the South Side win this competition!

The fourth and final store is HomeEco, at 4611 Macklind. They call themselves "your Green General Store". That's pretty accurate. If you're one of the ecologically sensitive sort, the store carries everything from those now omnipresent energy efficient lightbulbs to recycle bins to "green" furniture to hemp-made pants. No kidding.

Why do I choose these four?

Cleverly, they have decided to promote one another's business. Purchase something at any one of the four stores. Secure a receipt. Take said receipt to one of the other stores. Receive 10 percent off your purchase.

I was delighted when I heard this. All four businesses are within a stone's throw of one another. All offer very different products and services. Instead of going it alone, they offer this simple cross promotion that I can tell you, from personal experience, goes a long way! Though Macklind is extremely walkable and pedestrian friendly (not a wide street, not hugely trafficked), it's easy for most St. Louisans to pull up in a car, get what they want, and leave. This promotion reminds people--hey, this is a business district! Stay around and shop for a while.

It's very difficult for small, local, independent businesses in St. Louis. Especially now, with a sunken economy, people are willing to take fewer spending "risks". A lot of times, a name brand wins out just because shoppers know what to expect, or can more easily secure a parking spot, or both. It's this simple kind of cooperation, this cross promotion, that will help to cushion these four very special businesses from the fate that has befallen so many of their less innovative predecessors--shuttering.

Please, support the Macklind Business District and take advantage of this small but important promotion. Local and unique retail needs you! Remember, more of your dollar will stay in the St. Louis economy.

Love the place you live? Invest in the place you live!

The Ivanhoe Business District should not be struggling 11:47 AM

In the most recent issue of St. Louis Magazine, the editors whittled the innumerable restaurant pool in St. Louis down to the best 35. But the issue contained a farewell to departed restaurants as of late: of course, Balaban’s was featured. Can’t forget Busch’s Grove, either. KoKo, formerly of 3257 Ivanhoe, was on the list as well. The editors noted (I don’t have the magazine in front of me right now, and it’s not online) that a new restaurant would be filling the space, but that the site was perhaps “cursed”, having turned over multiple times in the span of a couple years. It turns out that this new restaurant is Bistro Toi, an Asian and Pan-European restaurant, to use its own descriptors on its web site.

(Take a tour of the Ivanhoe Business District below, from Google Streetview):

View Larger Map

Some wonder if an upscale or even mid-priced restaurant can make it in the Ivanhoe Business District after KoKo failed. But I say: why not? The Ivanhoe district has all the ingredients for success as an urban business district.

The district, located on Ivanhoe between Arsenal and Fyler, is very walkable. It is also very drivable, since Interstate 44 is right around the corner. There’s also a bus line that serves the area, and a fairly nearby Metrolink station in Shrewsbury.

Crime is not a major issue in the neighborhood.

Parking, while not as easy as pulling into one of a couple thousand spaces in front of a big box shopping center, is still relatively easy and plentiful.

The surrounding population is, for the most part, middle class.

Here are some stats from the city’s website about the area around Ivanhoe (specifically, from the corner of Scanlan and Ivanhoe). The numbers are derived from the 2000 Census.

½ Mile Radius:

Population: 3,751
Average Household Income (1999 dollars): $51,282
Pct. of households earning over $60,000: 37.7%
Pct. of households earning over $100,000: 9.2%
Pct. of residents with at least “Some College” education: 45.1%

1 Mile Radius:
Population: 17,881
Average Household Income (1999 dollars): $43,169
Pct. of households earning over $60,000: 24.3%
Pct. of households earning over $100,000: 4.9%
Pct. of residents with at least “Some College” education: 44.2%

While this is totally unempirical, let’s look at a control area: one with a lot of successful businesses, restaurants or retail: South Grand (at Connecticut).

½ Mile Radius:
Population: 8,567
Average Household Income (1999 dollars): $37,876
Pct. of households earning over $60,000: 17.7%
Pct. of households earning over $100,000: 5.3%
Pct. of residents with at least “Some College” education: 33.5%

1 Mile Radius:
Population: 38,706
Average Household Income (1999 dollars): $35,397
Pct. of households earning over $60,000: 15.7%
Pct. of households earning over $100,000: 4.7%
Pct. of residents with at least “Some College” education: 32.5%

Now, you might argue that South Grand draws from a much larger area than Ivanhoe, and so it is less reliant on its nearby demographics. But that’s the whole reason I’m astounded at Ivanhoe not being one of the city’s most occupied business districts. It is in perhaps the most stable neighborhood of any district. Sure, it’s not a hotbed of pedestrian activity, and it’s not all that dense, but clearly there is a concentration of middle class residents that do their shopping/dining somewhere. Why did they not support KoKo? Why is Ivanhoe off most St. Louis residents’ radars?

Is St. Louis simply lacking in local entrepreneurs? Or is it that loyalty to malls and other more autocentric shopping/dining ventures convinces a potential small business owner not to even try it out? With the failure of the St. Louis Marketplace on Manchester (though reasons for that may not be entirely its own doing), I would hope that residents would demand more small-scale, local shopping and dining options. But time and time again, we opt to build Loughborough Commons and Southtown Centers at our prominent intersections. Ultimately, no matter how occupied these shopping centers remain, no matter how well they’re maintained, no matter what desired corporate tenants they attract, they’re ultimately damaging to a walkable, human scale business district like Ivanhoe.

For no reason other than that these corporate stores are familiar and convenient, the shopping centers win out over the small business districts. And yet, it’s the South Grand, the Morganford, the Macklind, the Manchester, the Ivory Triangle, the Euclid that truly defines the character of our city.

Why should a restaurant on Ivanhoe fail? It can’t be about the money. There’s enough aggregate income in the area for an upscale restaurant. It simply has to be that those with the money drive to more car-friendly and visible and well-known areas. Ivanhoe isn’t cursed, as St. Louis Magazine says. It’s just one of the many blacklisted old school business districts that are struggling to compete with stale, inferior, less interesting chain stores and restaurants. These types of placeless places have an edge because we allow them to. Not enough St. Louisans “go out of their way” to support local businesses. Not enough of them realize that investing dollars into your local economy—as opposed to sending them to the corporate headquarters of, say, Qdoba, wherever that may be—means investing in the place you live. Even if you spend more dollars at a local place than you might at a chain, more of your money is going to local employees and is funding local services. The “local multiplier” is huge and is not advertised enough. It's funny that Republicans and Democrats alike don't want to rely on foreign oil, and want to create energy locally, but they can't make the same connection with their retail/restaurant dollars. Invest in the place you live!

For these reasons, Ivanhoe shouldn’t be struggling.

Innovative, neighborhood-based services will make St. Louis more livable 12:39 AM

St. Louis is lucky to be seeing the opening of a couple of new businesses that could really, collectively, change the face of the city.

First, SweetArt From-Scratch Bakeshop and Art Studio, in Shaw. Cbabi Bayoc, a local artist, has teamed up with none other than his own wife, Reine, to produce a lethal combination of cookie and canvass. I am sure Garden-goers and Shaw-ites will be duly pleased.

Below, a Cbabi painting.



Second, in DeBaliviere Place, Velocity Cafe and Cyclery. Do you feel Metrolink doesn't take you where you need to go? With this new part eatery, part bike rental shop, you can exit at the Forest Park Station and trade two feet for two wheels--and dine before you do. I'm told that the restaurant will use, quite fittingly, recycled bicycles as decor. A bike rental at the doorstep to one of the nation's largest urban parks and within a stone's throw of the Delmar Loop? It seems a no-brainer, but Velocity is the first. Since their website is a bit lacking at the moment, here are the updates from UrbanSTL.

Third, in Old North St. Louis, the Urban Studio Cafe. A coffee shop in up-and-coming Old North? That's good enough news in and of itself. But Starbucks-wannabe (is that even appropriate to say anymore, given that company's recent decline?) Urban Studio is not. Says founder Phil Valko, "The cafe seeks to foster a sense of community and creativity while providing a quality cup of joe. Revenue generated by the cafe will go towards funding future art programs for youth in the area." Think non-profit plus coffee shop. Nice. Oh, also, since we're on the topic of bikes, at the future Urban Studio Cafe, you can ride a bicycle to blend your own smoothie. Sounds like a nice, healthy excuse to eat some sweets. See the picture below.



So, if you're depressed that none of the above are open yet, I would highly recommend the Sci-Fi Lounge in Skinker-DeBaliviere. It has limited hours (Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8pm to Midnight), but it's worth the trip on either of those nights. It's a very surreal place that kind of reminds me of New Orleans: meaning, there's not an ounce of corporate-ness in between its narrow walls. What is there sort of defies description--multiple stations to play a quick game of Nintendo 64 Mario Kart, PacMan, whathaveyou, plus the gangway between its own building and the one next door a sculpture garden of sorts dubbed "Robot Alley." Just check it out if you haven't yet.

We cannot fail to mention Cherokee Station's coming addition--Foam. It's a coffeehouse that serves alcohol that's going to brew both. A town can never have enough breweries, and especially ones that serve espresso. The myspace page linked above notes that Foam has aspirations to grow into a "contemporary cultural center". Sounds about right. Benton Park West/Cherokee Station needs it.

Finally, I'm excited about Carondelet's "The Wedge". PictureThisSTL has more details, describing the venue at Bates and Virginia as a "rock 'n' roll pizza bar." I have to admit something nerdy here: I'm obsessed with odd-shaped city blocks, and especially when they have odd-shaped buildings on them. In grid-happy St. Louis, there's not too many pie slices going on, and when they occur, they're sadly given over too often to a gas station or a vacant lot. Well, the Wedge, as evidenced by its name, proudly defies this trend. Look for an art-deco bar on street-level, and a pizzeria/rock music venue on the second floor.

Why do I pull out these examples? They all buck the idea of just opening something that you'd expect, since they all cross genres and aren't easily defined. They're obviously being crafted by passionate folks who want to bring St. Louis something it's not seen yet. Innovative small businesses like this improve the quality of life in a city, informing residents and visitors alike that there is something unique and memorable to this place.

The CVS Mess 10:47 PM

It's been confirmed recently that pharmacy giant CVS is entering the St. Louis market. One of their first stores will subsume a vacant parcel in the otherwise tidy Boulevard Heights neighborhood. The property, formerly a gas station, has been a blight on the neighborhood for years. The gas station abandoned the property in the late '90s or early 2000s, if my memory serves me correctly.

This sounds great, right? Here's the site:


View Larger Map

Of course, there's a Walgreens adjacent to this site (spin the Google Streetview Map around to see it)--not to mention the Schnucks, which carries pharmaceutical goods, right across the street.

But never mind the oversaturation of pharmacies for a moment. They're taking five homes to build this store too! God help me if they're getting any sort of incentives from the city to do so!

Look: I want competition for Walgreens. Their rampant expansion has blighted several neighborhood corners with a highly successful, but generic store that only hurts already scarce local retailers and pharmacy. See the Martin Luther King shopping center on North Grand as an example. They knock out a turn of the century commercial building (or two, or three, or four) to put up a cinderblock store with front parking--a forgettable addition to a neighborhood that needs bold change. On the south side, they built another atrocious store on the corner of Kingshighway and Chippewa--despite pleas of neighborhood residents for that corner to be reserved for architecturally interesting and urban construction after the failed K-Mart proposal in the late 1990s.


The last time I was in town, I tried to convert my parents to using local pharmacies. Guess what--they're the same price (if you have insurance) and they deliver!

Try Keller Apothecary on Brannon and Chippewa, or Lindenwood Drug at Lansdowne and Jamieson.

My point is: I have no qualms about threatening Walgreens' near monopoly on drugs and junk-peddling retail. I just don't want it to be CVS to do it! Especially not in a city like St. Louis that has shown a consistent failure to support urban storefronts and sound design. If we keep building like a suburb, we will never host walkable, urban neighborhoods. The line between suburban St. Louis and urban St. Louis will further blur until the once-grand city becomes merely a tired-looking caricature of Sunbelt Sprawl. Proper zoning (and leadership) would ensure that CVS would build urban and attractive. And it would most likely not allow the loss of homes in a stable neighborhood for such gratuitous duplication of services.

This is a Maps.Live view of at least two of the homes to be demolished. These are along Austria Avenue.

They may not be gems, but they shouldn't be torn down for a suburban-style pharmacy. That's a story St. Louis knows too well.

Luckily, to my knowledge, there are no renderings yet, and we can perhaps voice our concern that this project will clog an already busy street and should therefore be made as pedestrian-friendly as possible (not to mention well-designed aesthetically). Oh yeah...pssst...it's right across the street from a transit station...

Join me in contacting 12th Ward Alderman Fred Heitert to pass along these concerns.

St. Louis's Local Dining Options Expand 11:01 AM

From Sauce Magazine's online foodie "gossip" column:

Now open
Café Osage, the new eatery from the folks at Bowood Farms nursery in the Central West End we told you about back in June, is now open. Stop by 4605 Olive St. to sample the fare prepared by chefs David Guempel and David Kirkland (which uses many ingredients grown at the nursery or its Clarksville farm).

Awesome addition to the Central West End and to the city at large! Well...I've not been of course, but I'm speaking of the concept: healthy foods from local and regional farms. St. Louis has too few of these.

Don't forget about Local Harvest on Morganford's latest venture either: the Local Harvest Cafe (see the Commonspace Blog for hours and more information).

Someone, please, report to Cafe Osage immediately so I can read the full pre-restaurant critic review!

Three Paragraphs You Need to Read (no, seriously, do it...) 12:27 AM

From Jane Jacobs' "The Economy of Regions": A slap in the face to economic development as we know it. If you're too lazy to read the following, SUPPORT LOCAL.

The standard diagnosis of the trouble with supply regions, abandoned regions, and clearance regions as well as stagnated and declining cities is "not enough industry." To be sure. But the standard prescription for the deficiency is "attract industry." What are these industries that can be lured and hooked? Where do they come from and why?

For the most part they are industries that originally developed in cities or city regions but are no longer tethered there by localized markets or by everyday dependence upon multitudes of producers and services close by. Their markets have become far -flung, and they supply so many of their own everyday needs for producers' goods and services internally and have become so practiced at acquiring those they must buy from others, whatever the source, that these enterprises have developed great freedom in choosing where to expand or to relocate. They can move to virtually any place providing other special advantages they seek: for instance, exceptionally cheap labor, close proximity to raw materials they use, release from environmental regulations, or the chance to cash in on tax forgiveness and other subsidies commonly offered to enterprises that will move into depressed areas.

The very freedom of location that enables these industries to leave city regions for distant regions means freedom from local markets and freedom from symbiotic nests of other producers. Therefore, their presence does nothing, or little, to stimulate creation of other, symbiotic enterprises. This outcome becomes starkly obvious whenever these transplants pull up stakes and leave for yet a different location, perhaps one with still cheaper labor or still lower electric rates. What they leave behind when they move are merely economic vacuums, very different from what they left behind originally in the cities or city regions of their origin. And as long as they remain in a region with a transplant economy of this sort, they produce only little and only narrowly for the local economy itself. Their markets are distant. In effect, such transplants shape a kind of industrialized supply region incapable of producing amply and diversely for its own people and producers as well as for others.

What a trip! 12:23 PM

I am back in the City of New Orleans.

My more than a week in St. Louis brought me to a couple new restaurants and such: you already heard about Onesto. In addition to that South Side pizza parlor, I went to Pi in the East Loop and tried Bridge and Tunnel downtown.

I visited old favorites like Hodak's and Crown Candy.

Besides eating (of which there was a lot), I just drove around, taking in the change and the unchanged.

The Tudor Building on Washington looked amazing. It's a very tangible sign of downtown's push westward. Some day Downtown West and Midtown will enjoy a seamless blend.

The 14th Street Mall project appears to chug along. But something is missing. What was demolished? I can't remember.

The general life and lushness of the city brought me to a positive realm not typically spoken of on this blog. Each time I visit St. Louis I am reminded of why it is I am so in love with it. It truly is a dusty attic with treasures being rediscovered by the day.

Even when I learned that the Preservation Board had approved the demolitions of the historic home on Lindell (on SLU's campus) and a series of irreplaceable warehouses on the riverfront--I couldn't let it sour my mood as KMOX launched a series of Blairmont stories.

There's an exciting, scary flux going on in this city. We are reaching a point that we must finally come up with a new identity for the city. Not as a fallen World's Fair era beauty, not as a wannabe Chicago, not as an even slower to change KC, and not as the city with the wholehearted embrace of urban renewal. We need to be something much more forward looking.

[Linkage and general post beautification to come; computer is acting up]

Onesto is a hit! 9:30 PM

Sorry for the lack of updates. As you may have read in a previous post, I am in St. Louis for a while. Thus, I have many people tugging my arms in opposite directions.

Nevertheless, I feel compelled to take a break and recommend Onesto Pizza and Trattoria located at 5401 Finkman (at Macklind).

The place was absolutely packed last night. It was exhilarating to see such a crowd turn out in what is otherwise a sleepy and primarily residential neighborhood (Princeton Heights). If you enjoy the Racanelli's name, you'll love Onesto; it's Racanelli-owned.

However, Onesto is more of a sit-down, family-friendly environment. It's the perfect intersection of "chic" and accessible. Dining in front of the large window that overlooks the quaint neighborhood, you get the sense that this is what cities are all about. Families walk down the tidy sidewalks, in front of Tudor-style swooping gables perched on a modest hill, and into the restaurant. Some patrons wait outside on the patio, sipping at wines and striking up conversation.

It's exciting to be back in St. Louis. Great weather, great food, great city!

St. Louis Economic Development booms outside city limits; what does it mean for the city of St. Louis? 11:13 AM

From SiteSelection.com, which honored the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association as one of the country's most active:

The River City welcomes visitors who want to pass through the famed Arch on the Mississippi and catch a glimpse of America's expansionist past. But the people and businesses of St. Louis are equally focused on the city's growth-marked future.

That focus is spearheaded by the St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association, which in 2007 put up eye-popping numbers in corporate projects, jobs and capital investment. With 95 facility deals, St. Louis ranked third in the nation. The projects totaled $1.517 billion in investment and accounted for 3,555 new jobs throughout the bi-state region.

Topping the project list were Abengoa Bioenergy's $200-million ethanol plant in Madison, Ill., and VeraSun Energy's $150-million ethanol plant in Granite City, Ill. The biggest employment impacts came from Monsanto Corp., which announced 224 new jobs in Chesterfield, Mo., and American Family Insurance, which created 221 positions at a call center in Creve Coeur, Mo.

"Since we rolled out a $21-million economic development campaign in 2005 and launched a branding effort in the first quarter of 2006, we've seen our deal flow triple," says Dick Fleming, president and CEO of the St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association. "The only disappointment is to be behind Chicago in anything. We will strive to overtake Chicago."

If the first quarter of 2008 is any indication, Fleming may be on his way to getting his wish. Through the first three months of the year, the RCGA had made the short list on 90 facility projects. "Those represent 14,000 jobs and over $3 billion in potential new capital investment," says Fleming.

We will be behind Chicago forever if our metropolitan area continues to be considered a "doughnut" by potential investors.


Part of the solution, of course, is to attract local economic development, where money stays in the local economy. New jobs are great--but when we have municipalities with greater resources than the city fighting over jobs that will depart from the region in a decade anyway, something is wrong.

Visit Stellina Pasta. 12:33 AM

For the first of my small business spotlights, I wanted to tell you about Stellina Pasta. First, the facts.

Business: Stellina Pasta
Category: Restaurant
Sub-category: Pasta/Italian
Neighborhood: Lindenwood
Location: 3342 Watson Road., St. Louis, MO 63139
Contact: 314-256-1600
Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 11am - 9pm
Amenable to: casual dates, a small office lunch outing, organic food freaks, meatlovers and vegetarians alike, basically anything other than a large group of people
Prices: $10-15 per head, post-tip

Stellina Pasta ("little star") is one of the coziest dining spots in St. Louis. I have to admit, its location is not all that exciting to me. Sure the growing presence of "yuppy" types in the Lindenwood/St. Louis Hills area seem to drift in and out, snagging seats with unsuspecting neighbors and generating casual chat like the best of urbanites--but something about its location on Watson (which I usually associate with St. Louis County's much longer stretch of the road of the same name) almost kept me from trying this place out. When I think of new and exciting places to go in the city, Lindenwood (Park) doesn't typically win out.

I'm glad I was extremely hungry one day while traveling down the pedestrian unfriendly Watson highway that is now, in my opinion, home to two destination restaurants: the ever popular Biggie's and Stellina itself.

Stellina, make no mistake, is tiny.



But as you can see, the storefront is adorable. The large window with the counter facing it is great for a person flying solo and wanting to people/car watch. In nice weather, the patio outside adds a lot more seating.

The interior gives off a bit of that pristine and squeaky clean coffeehouse vibe--again, not my favorite, but the intimate scale of the place, which makes it appear all the more busy, is rare in St. Louis and is appreciated in this context.



With the tin ceiling, my imagination has invented the scenario of this building as a former neighborhood grocery store. Maybe I'll do a bit of research.

What about the food and pricing though?

The food, all organic and handmade, is excellent. I have had several iterations of the pasta, all successful to me. The Hog Wild is my favorite sandwich:

Shaved ham, bacon, granny smith apple, white cheddar, sweet hot mustard on peasant bread, served grilled.

But rotating specials and a host of no-meat items make this place amenable to all foodseekers.

Check out the menu here. Prices are definitely reasonable, with each sandwich falling between the 7 and 9 dollar marks. Pasta, as can be expected, is a bit pricier. Portion sizes are not huge, but are completely appropriate and filling. My only complaint, as a Coke/Pepsi addict, is the lack of a fountain--meaning you must pay for each soda can and glass of ice. Oh well. It's probably for the better.

Next time you think pasta, at least for once, don't think the Hill! Come to Lindenwood and try out Stellina. You will not be disappointed.