a st. louis classic | Imo’s pizzas are now in grocery stores! Joining its retail line of sauces, salad dressing, pizza crusts and cheese products, the pizzeria now offers frozen pizzas. As well as hitting local shelves, the pizzas are bringing a taste of the StL to retail locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Virginia
caffeine fix
Tower Grove Farmers’ Market favorite Looking Meadow Coffee will open its first storefront early next year. The vegan cafe will move into the former home of Stone Spiral Coffee & Curious at 2500 Sutton Blvd. in Maplewood. … Blueprint Coffee has announced plans to open a new roastery in the Tiffany and Botanical Heights neighborhood. The new 11,000-square-foot facility will include an interactive training center and quality control center.
celebrate the season
The inaugural 4 Hands Fall Fest will be Oct. 22 at 4 Hands Brewery. Developed in partnership with 1220 Artisan Spirits and Withered Oak, the free event will feature family-friendly activities like a bounce house, face painting, balloon artists and pumpkin decorating. Food will be available from Sugarfire, Hi-Pointe Drive-In, Chicken Out and Strange Donuts, along with 4 Hands beers and seltzers, 1220 Spirits cocktails and a whiskey cocktail menu from STL Barkeep. A portion of the event’s proceeds will be donated to Strange Cares, Strange Donuts’ nonprofit that supports the behavioral and mental health needs of children in the St. Louis community.
temporarily closed
James Beard Award-nominated chef Ben Grupe has left the restaurant Tempus in The Grove. The eatery, opened in October 2020 and owned by Peter Brickler, has received many accolades such as making it to USA Today’s 10 Best New Restaurants in America in 2021. Following Grupe’s departure, Tempus temporarily closed but is expected to reopen this fall. The restaurant also recently lost its beverage director Andrew Lucido, who will be taking a leadership role at a restaurant in Los Angeles.
opens & closes
Located at 1915 Cherokee St. and owned by KDHX DJ Doug Morgan, Saturn Lounge is now open Wednesday through Sunday. Inspired by the kissaten tea-shop culture of post-WWII Japan, the bar also serves as a listening lounge. … Fans of soup dumplings will want to head to Fenton. Tiger Soup Dumplings is now serving up the specialty at 98D Gravois Bluffs Circle Drive. … The latest restaurant from chef Logan Ely, Press is open in Fox Park at 2509 S. Jefferson Ave. The eatery specializes in “smash pizzas,” a concept where pizza dough is stuffed and pressed before being topped with more ingredients. … If you’re looking to broaden your ramen horizons, check out Menya Rui at 3453 Hampton Ave. Along with the commonly known brothy shoyu ramen, it serves up mazemen (brothless) and tsukemen (dipping) styles of the dish. … The last remaining St. Louis location of Sweetie Pie’s Upper Crust held its final service in September. The soul food fave’s sister location in Jackson, Mississippi, will remain open.