university city
Nighttime violence erupted throughout the metro several times after peaceful daytime protests following the acquittal of a white former police officer in a murder trial for his shooting of a black suspect in 2011. The violence, of course, was random and perpetrated by opportunists who wanted nothing other than to bust things up. It marred the peaceful civil disobedience by men and women of all races who believe justice was not done. In the Delmar Loop Sept. 16, vandals shattered windows at several restaurants and other businesses, targeted only because they were unlucky enough to be in their path: Salt + Smoke on the corner of the western end of a block, Ranoush on the eastern corner. Dozens of windows were boarded up along Delmar, but it appeared those two locations received the worst of it. The violence that night, as it was during most of the disturbances, was misdirected … especially at Ranoush, whose owner is Syrian. A few days after the violence forced him to close Saturday night and Sunday, he was not angry. In fact, he was grateful for the outpouring of love and support from fellow business owners and the community. Strangers poured in and swept up glass on the sidewalk and helped clean up the mess inside. He noted, however, that two of the windows at his corner establishment were pricey curved glass, and he was nervously awaiting an estimate. Meanwhile, plywood covered the openings, and as was the case up and down the street, paintings and hopeful messages adorned them: ‘Peace is not the destination. Peace is the WAY.’ A few doors down at Artisans @ Compôner, two messages stood out: ‘No H8’ and raised hands of all colors were painted in front of the Arch, above which was written, ‘This Is What Community Looks Like.’ A server at Ranoush was more impressed by what happened after the mayhem: “They brought pizza!” she said of the volunteers. Being from Bosni.
affton
Grant’s Farm is staying in the Busch family. It seemed pretty clear that one Busch or a group of them would maintain control, but for a while, there was quite the squabble going on between Billy— the Busch who founded Kräftig— and some of his siblings. The row started in 2015 when the Saint Louis Zoo made a purchase offer, which a partnership group formed by Busch descendants and sibs wanted to accept. Billy, however, was keen on building a brewery on the property and offered his own bid. Meanwhile, the zoo withdrew its offer, and thumbwrestling between family members continued in court for months. But now, Billy’s brethren and sistren— Beatrice Busch von Gontard, Peter Busch, Trudy Busch Valentine, Andrew Busch and Robert Hermann Jr., grandson of ‘Gussie’ Busch—have announced a plan to purchase the 270-acre farm from the family trust for about $50 million and keep it open and free to the public. The new ownership group has welcomed Billy Busch to join them, sans brewery, which the Kräftig king reportedly is considering. This is good news for the Lou: Thousands of guests visit the attraction each year to gawk at the world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales, view animals ranging from free-roaming American bison to Scottish Highland cattle, feed the goats, ride ponies and camels, and taste the beloved family brews. For 60 years, AnheuserBusch has operated the farm as a free public attraction. Following the 2008 sale of the company to InBev, A-B InBev remained a valued partner in Grant’s Farm, and the partnership will continue. A popular tourist destination since 1954, the very presidential Grant’s Farm has been the ancestral home of the Busch family. There’s even a castle on it … well, they call it the Big House. This Affton landmark was named for Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th U.S. president. Purchased by August A. Busch Sr. in 1903 (‘Gussie’ was Busch Jr.), Grant’s Farm has welcomed more than 30 million visitors and is now home to more than 100 species of animals. A veritable Saint Louis Zoo-South, some might say.
webster groves
Of all the big and small takeovers, bankruptcies and store closures in the past few months, the one that saddens us most is Lubeley’s Bakery. It’s hard to experience the end of an era. The bakery at 7815 Watson Road (technically in Marlborough) was open 80 years; it opened in 1937 and closed Sept. 30. The mom-and-pop shop suffered the fate of many such family businesses— there was no third generation to pick up the reins. The business started in the city near Kingshighway and Christy boulevards and moved several times; some of our not-so-young readers may remember the first store in the Yorkshire Plaza shopping center in the mid-20th century, at Watson and Laclede Station roads. Lubeley’s had been in its most recent location since 1980. The matriarch, Helen Lubeley, passed away in 2014 at age 101. Rothman Furniture and Mattress is yet another such story. While a bakery has to sell its goods before they go stale, furniture liquidations seem to take forever. Rothman’s was to begin this month at all six stores in the metro. Don’t blame this president, or the last. Blame the IKEA administration and the other national and international giants with multimillion-dollar marketing budgets. Meanwhile, Toys “R” Us has filed for bankruptcy protection, but its stores will remain open for business through the holidays. Competitors like Walmart have been chewing them up and spitting them out, and online behemoths like Amazon make ‘big boxes’ less relevant. But perhaps the biggest question mark of the past few months is what to rename the arena—Kiel, we mean Savvis, we mean Scottrade—where the St. Louis Blues play, since online brokerage TD Ameritrade has completed gobbling up the discount brokerage. They say it’ll be ‘TD Ameritrade Center,’ and we hope they stick with that, because ‘Online Discount Brokerage TD Ameritrade Center’ would be a.) too many words for sportscasters, and b.) lots more illuminated letters, increasing the chances of one going dark at the worst possible moment.
