Readers Top Pick For Closed Restaurant They Wish Was Still Open: The Parkmoor

Hopefully the poll last week was a nice stroll down memory lane, it was for me at least. The question was the three closed restaurants readers wished were still open. The Parkmoor received 35 votes to top the poll with 7.94%.

Here’s some history about The Parkmoor you may not have known:

There were once six Parkmoors in St. Louis. I had thought that the Parkmoor at Big Bend and Clayton was the one and only. In fact it was the sole survivor as well as the original, in 1930 the site of a Tudor-style drive-in. Three more Parkmoors opened in the 1930s and two in the 1950s, but all five of them were gone by 1971.

From 1940 to 1953 there was also a McGinley Parkmoor in Indianapolis. Parkmoor was a popular name for mid-century drive-ins. The Parkmoors in Amarillo TX, Knoxville TN (one O), Dayton OH, and Sarasota FL were not related. (source)

Many drive-in restaurants continued even though the drive-in service didn’t.

Here are the remaining votes:

1. Tin Can 32 [7.26%]
2. Other: 29 [6.58%]
3. Rossino’s 23 [5.22%]
4. Miss Hullings 22 [4.99%]
5. Busch’s Grove 22 [4.99%]
6. Bleeding Deacon 22 [4.99%]
7. Papa Fabarre’s 21 [4.76%]
8. Duff’s 21 [4.76%] 4.76%
9. Del Taco 20 [4.54%]
10. Flaco’s Tacos 20 [4.54%]
11. King Louie’s 20 [4.54%]
12. 94th Aerosquadron 16 [3.63%]
13. Chuy Arzola’s (Dogtown) 15 [3.4%]
14. Stable 12 [2.72%]
15. Monarch 10 [2.27%]
16. Tangerine 9 [2.04%]
17. The Salad Bowl 8 [1.81%]
18. Shangri La Diner 7 [1.59%]
19. Delmar Lounge 7 [1.59%]
20. Chez Leon 6 [1.36%]
21. Sunshine Inn 6 [1.36%]
22. Red Moon 5 [1.13%]
23. Brandt’s 5 [1.13%]
24. El Burrito Loco 5 [1.13%]
25. Zoe’s Panasian 4 [0.91%]
26. O’Malley’s 3 [0.68%]
27. Marty’s Baking 3 [0.68%]
28. Pestalozzi Place 3 [0.68%]
29. Shuggas 1 [0.23%]
30. Empire Sandwich Shop 0 [0%]
31. Minions Cafe 0 [0%]

As you can see at the top “other” got a lot of votes:

1. Casa Gallardo
2. Tanner B’s (x3)
3. Seki’s
4. Beffa’s
5. Salt (x2)
6. Sunflower Cafe
7. Kitchen K
8. Garavelli’s
9. Il Vicino’s
10. Revival
11. Natural Fact Deli
12. Terrene
13. Moxy
14. Robert E Lee
15. redels
16. Sine Qua Non (Delmar) – Ethiopian
17. silk road
18. Newstead Tower Public House
19. Riddles
20. Dooley’s (downtown)
21. Dohak’s
22. Kopperman’s
23. Lake Forest bakery
24. wildflower pizza on pershing
25. mojo tapas
26. Diamond Head Inn

I have no great insight other than restaurants come and go.

— Steve Patterson