Poll: Thoughts on Culinaria (Downtown Schnucks grocery)

Culinaria, the downtown Schnucks grocery store, opened 4 years ago today. Schnucks management originally had very low expectations, but the location has consistently done a very good volume of business, according to managers anyway.

During the last 4 years the store has changed very little, except for trying to squeeze more product by adding displays here and there. They just completed the first major revamp of the store, closing an aisle to add more shelving.

Over the last four years the store has been inproving the foods offered since opening day. I recall early on the only flour they had was bleached white flour, I had to visit Straub’s to get decent flour for something I wanted to bake. After I complained they added unbleached & wheat flour from Gold Medal, but now they also have several varieties of flour from King Arthur. Just took too long for a store with the tag line “bring out the foodie in you” to get ingredients this foodie uses.

I don’t know about you but I don’t look for produce & gourmet cheese at Best Buy, nor do I buy televisions at the grocery store. Culinaria has also sold charcoal, mini grills, & lighter fluid — likely aimed at downtown residents. The thing is, we can’t use charcoal grills! We can use propane grills, but no charcoal.

Eventually I think they’ll figure out how to sell groceries in a compact downtown setting, maybe in another 4 years. Anyway, the poll this week wants to know how you feel about the store. The poll is in the right sidebar, mobile users need to select the desktop layout.

— Steve Patterson

Poll: What Three (3) St. Louis Area Restaurants Have Closed That You Wish Were Still Open?

Many restaurants I remember from my childhood in Oklahoma City have since closed: Split-T, Al’s Hideaway BBQ, Nicolosi’s, etc. In my 23 years in St. Louis I’ve seen many restaurants come and go too. All I have left are fond memories.

The poll this week asks: What three (3) St. Louis area restaurants have closed that you wish were still open? So put on your nostalgia hat and review the list of 30 I’ve included as options in the poll:

1. 94th Aerosquadron
2. Bleeding Deacon
3. Brandt’s
4. Busch’s Grove
5. Chez Leon
6. Chuy Arzola’s (Dogtown)
7. Del Taco
8. Delmar Lounge
9. Duff’s
10. El Burrito Loco
11. Empire Sandwich Shop
12. Flaco’s Tacos
13. King Louie’s
14. Marty’s Baking
15. Minions Cafe
16. Miss Hullings
17. Monarch
18. O’Malley’s
19. Papa Fabare’s
20. Parkmoor
21. Pestalozzi Place
22. Red Moon
23. Rossino’s
24. Sunshine Inn
25. The Salad Bowl
26. Shangri La Diner
27. The Stable
28. Tangerine
29. Tin Can
30. Zoe’s Panasian

They’re alphabetical here but will be presented in random order in the poll (right sidebar). Here are more closed restaurants you might want to include in the other field:

1. Colorado
2. Gulf Coast Cafe
3. Kitchen K
4. Kopperman’s
5. La Fourchette
6. Mattingly’s
7. Mojo Tapas
8. Moxy
9. Pelican
10. Sage
11. Simply Fondue
12. Shuggas
13. Southern Belle Supper Club
14. Tanner B’s
15. Terrene

You can also review a list of closed restaurants on UrbanSpoon.com.

Thanks to my Facebook friends with help generating all these names, I’d forgotten about many. Please share your memories in the comments below.

— Steve Patterson

Poll: Who Should Gov Nixon Appoint St. Louis License Collector?

Last week it was announced a city hall regular would be leaving elected office to take a new job:

The Board of Directors of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Inc. has appointed Michael P. McMillan, 41, as the next president and chief executive officer of the 95 – year old Urban League affiliate. McMillan, the License Collector for the City of St. Louis since 2007 and a longtime Urban League member and supporter, takes the helm August 5, succeeding James H. Buford who is retiring after 28 years of stellar service to the Urban League. (Urban League)

McMillan, 42 as of last Friday, will be assuming an important leadership position in St. Louis, congratulations.

This also means a city-wide elected office will become vacant, the position of license collector.    As a county office, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, a Democrat, will appoint a successor to complete the term, which ends on December 31, 2014. The next primary is in August 2014.  The appointee will have nearly a year in office on the day of the primary.

Speculation began right away as to who Nixon might be considering, the Post-Dispatch listed the following in Field to replace St. Louis License Collector is wide open:

• Brian Wahby, the former chairman of the St. Louis City Democrats who lost a bid for city treasurer last year.
• Terry Kennedy, a workhorse at the Board of Aldermen who chairs the board’s Ways and Means committee.
• Marlene Davis, close friend of McMillan’s who represents his old Midtown ward.
• Martin Casas, who unsuccessfully ran for state representative and is looking to stay active in politics
• Donna Baringer, alderman from the city’s Ward 16.
• Jeffrey Boyd, alderman from the city’s Ward 22.

If Nixon appoints a current alderman then we’d see jockeying to fill that seat. I personally like to see the players change seats every so often, otherwise races get stagnant as voter apathy increases.

Speaking of stagnant, we shouldn’t forget the two most senior members on the Board of Aldermen:

• Fred Wessels
• Phyllis Young

Both were sworn into office in April 1985! Wessels ran for treasurer last year, Young ran for president of the board of alderman in 1995.

Assuming all are equally qualified, Nixon may consider the race of his appointee. He may not want to appoint a white person to a citywide seat held by a black person. Then again, he may not care.

Will McMillan ask Nixon to appoint Marlene Davis? Given her recent financial difficulties, the increased salary would no doubt help her personally. As of January 1, 1999, the annual salary was $64,130 (source). I’m uncertain of the current salary after annual adjustments.

The replacement is the poll question this week: Who should Gov Nixon appoint St. Louis License Collector? The poll is in the right sidebar, you’ve got the option to add a name if you like.

— Steve Patterson

Readers’ Favorite St. Louis Commercial Streets: Euclid, South Grand, Delmar, & Cherokee

Rarely does the “unsure/no answer” option go unselected in the weekly poll, but last week the voting was higher than usual with 145 total votes and everyone had an opinion about their favorite commercial street in St. Louis. Here are the results:

Q: Pick your favorite commercial street in St. Louis city

1. Euclid (CWE) 32 [22.07%]
2. Grand (South Grand) 25 [17.24%]
3. Delmar (Loop) 23 [15.86%]
4. Cherokee Street 20 [13.79%]
5. Washington Ave 17 [11.72%]
6. Other: 11 [7.59%]
7. Manchester Ave (The Grove) 8 [5.52%]
8. Morgan Ford 5 [3.45%]
9. Locust St (Midtown Alley) 3 [2.07%]
10. N. 14th Street (Old North) 1 [0.69%]
11. Unsure/No Answer 0 [0%]

As I said in the post introducing the poll, I’m thrilled there are so many choices.

In hindsight I should’ve 1) noted I meant a commercial street with organized marketing effort  2) defined what a commercial street is and isn’t, 3) allowed 2-3 selections rather than just one, and 4) included a few of the ones below submitted by readers:

1. DeMun Neighborhood West of Clayton
2. Ivanhoe
3. Macklind
4. manchester ave
5. the Loop and South Grand tie for me
6. Castleman Circle (Shaw & Vandeventer)
7. Manchester (Maplewood)
8. Gravois
9. Mackland
10. Truman Parkway
11. Hampton Avenue

Ivanhoe & Macklind are the two I wish I had included. DeMun is an interesting area…in Clayton, not the city. Interestingly nobody added say 2nd Street in Laclede’s Landing.

How did Euclid in the CWE edge out South Grand, Delmar Loop, and Cherokee? Probably a number of factors but the main one is likely the first mover advantage. It was Euclid Ave that convinced me to move to St. Louis in 1990, at the same time the other streets were nothing like they are today.

— Steve Patterson

Poll: Why So Little Transit-Oriented Development In The Last 20 Years?

The 20th anniversary of the opening of our light rail sys system, MetroLink, is next week.For the last 12-18 months there has been a big push by Citizens for Modern Transit and East West Gateway Council of Governments to kickstart development around the stations.

The poll this week lists many possible reasons why development hasn’t happened around the stations, you can pick up to 3. The choices are presented in random order.

On July 31st, MetroLink’s 20th anniversary, I’ll share my thoughts on why development hasn’t happened  and what we need to do so the next 20 years are more productive.

— Steve Patterson