Poll: Favorite St. Louis Brewery?

Eight years ago today beer drinkers rejoiced:

President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signature repealed the Volstead Act, legalizing 3.2 percent beer. It also paved the way for the December ratification of the 21st Amendment, which repealed the 18th Amendment and deep-sixed Prohibition altogether.

The Volstead Act, which is how the National Prohibition Act was widely known, was pushed hard by religious and temperance groups and passed Congress in 1919 over the veto of President Woodrow Wilson.

The prohibition movement had been active in the United States for 80 years before its adherents finally succeeded in ramming through an outright national ban on alcohol. The original movement lost some steam during the Civil War (soldiers drink; deal with it) but was revived with a vengeance by the Prohibition Party and Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. (Wired)

Remaining breweries in St. Louis were also relieved to be able to legally produce beer once again after 13+ long years.

Fast forward to today and beer is a popular beverage in St. Louis with breweries &  brewpubs in many parts of the region. Which brings us to the poll question for this week: What is your favorite St. Louis Brewery?

The list of breweries was taken from STL Hops:

• 4 Hands Brewing Company
• Anheuser-Busch
• Exit 6 Brewery
• O’Fallon Brewery
• Saint Louis Brewery (aka Schlafly)
• Urban Chestnut Brewing Company

The poll is in the right sidebar. Check out the St. Louis Beer Map for breweries, brewpubs, beer bars, etc. Of course, if you are 21 and choose to drink, please do so responsibly.

— Steve Patterson

Chronicle Coffee Now Open, Grand Opening Soon

Last July I posted about a New Coffeehouse Opening Soon on Page Blvd Just East of Grand Ave. It took a white while to open but last month it finally did. A few days ago I met someone there and returned for lunch.  The concept is simple, a nice neighborhood coffeehouse that hires employees from the area.

But how do you make such an enterprise financially viable? During my visit I was able to chat with the owner, turns out the answer is through acquisition!

Rick Milton, owner of Northwest Coffee Roasting Co., has sold his company to Jason Wilson, the owner of Chronicle Coffee. Chronicle is located just north of Grand Center at 1235 Blumeyer Ave. The sale, completed in December, includes both the Northwest Coffee roasting operation as well as Northwest Coffee cafes in Clayton and the Central West End. (Sauce Magazine)

By buying the well established Northwest Coffee Wilson has quality coffee for Chronicle and a good place to train new employees.

One wall of Chronicle Coffee includes enlarged black & white prints of the former Blumeyer public housing project that once  occupied the immediate area.I know I’ll return when I’m nearby. Wilson is finalizing plans for their grand opening later this month.

— Steve Patterson

New Coffeehouse Opening Soon on Page Blvd Just East of Grand Ave

The other day I was delighted to see “coming soon” signs in the first floor retail space at in the St. Louis Housing Authority’s headquarters built in 2009. PNC Bank is in the west end of the building.

Chronicle Coffee bills itself on Twitter (@ChronicleCoffee ) as “A St. Louis-based coffee company dedicated to helping the community control their narrative one cup at a time…”

Believe it or not, people that live and work in north St. Louis also drink coffee. I know this may come as a shock to some of you but it’s true. I’ll certainly patronize them once they open.

— Steve Patterson

MX Rises From Former St. Louis Centre, Pi Now Open

Two years ago the long process of demolishing the massive pedestrian bridge over Washington Ave was underway. The much-anticipated work began with the “Bridge Bash” on May 21, 2010. At the time it seemed like demolition was taking forever, but it took just over a month to remove the bridge and reopen the street to vehicles and pedestrians.

Work to reskin St. Louis Centre, patch the damage to the Dillard’s facade, convert the Dillard’s into the Laurel Apts and Embassy Suites did take much much longer. That was then.

Finally yesterday, something I’d long anticipated, Pi Pizzeria opened a downtown location. A week ago I stopped by and got a tour from owner Chris Sommers while managers were training new employees. Their other locations are all in 100+ year old buildings, this is their first in basically a new unfinished box.

Ok, so a pizza place opened? Big deal? Well yes, Pi Pizzeria is the the first business to open in the MX. Soon a movie theater and an upscale Asian restaurant will open in the same building. Across Washington Ave will be a wine bar and the National Blues Museum. This will be another spot of activity along Washington Ave.

Those downtown that think this is too far to walk can take the #99 (Downtown Trolley) to get here from various points, well, except on Sunday because the trolley doesn’t operate at all unfortunately.  The Convention Center MetroLink is at this corner as well so that’s another option. The building has tons of parking and hopefully short-term on-street parking will be aded along this part of Washington Ave soon. In another two years we”ll have forgotten all about that horrible  bridge that blocked vistas.

– Steve Patterson

Former City Hospital Power Plant to Include Rock Climbing Gym, Banquet Hall, Rooftop Dining

An interesting new concept will open for business next month:

Is St. Louis ready for one of the tallest bouldering walls in the nation? Or a banquet facility where attendees can watch rock climbers scale a 55-foot wall? Or a corporate party that includes rock climbing? Ready or not, Climb So iLL will be opening in the historic City Hospital Power Plant in mid-March. (St. Louis Business Journal)

You’ll be able to grab lunch at a restaurant while viewing the climbing space.

This is a creative  use of a difficult building:

Listed on the city’s historical registry, the Power Plant supplied power to the St. Louis City Hospital for nearly 50 years. The City Hospital complex is made up of several buildings including the Laundry Building, the Administrative Complex, the City Hospital itself, and the Power Plant.

 The once abandoned City Hospital has been renovated into the Georgian Condominiums, and the Laundry Building is now home to the Palladium Banquet Center. Several other construction projects are underway on the site. Phase two of construction hopes to bring with it a bakery, a micro-brewery, a locally-grown food processing distribution center, and a hotel. (climbsoill.com)

It has been nice seeing the City Hospital site develop over time. The streets and sidewalks have been in place and one by one the development is filling in between.

This is an example of what I was talking about the other day regarding The Bottle District — the planning was done and the infrastructure (streets & sidewalks) to connect development parcels within the site and to the adjacent neighborhoods. As demand and financing becomes available vacant buildings are renovated and occupied and new construction is built to fill in other areas.

We need more of this — plan the site, put the infrastructure in place and build/renovate over time. The developer of the site isn’t responsible for financing all the future renovations and new construction at the beginning. For more info and artist renderings of the rock climbing gym see climbsoill.com.

– Steve Patterson