creve coeur | For a dose of holiday romance, New Jewish Theater will present the St. Louis premiere of First Date, a romantic musical comedy by Austin Winsberg, Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner. The production runs Nov. 21 through Dec. 8 at the Jewish Community Center (The J). Zachary and Weiner, who wrote the music and lyrics, were classmates at an L.A. high school and began writing musicals together in college. Upon meeting Winsberg in 2003, the three instantly connected over their shared Jewish heritage and bad luck with women. Does their could-be couple go ‘Pffft’ right from the start? (No spoilers!) Main characters are Aaron, a blind-date newbie, and serial-dater Casey. They’re set up for a casual drink at a busy New York restaurant—but one drink morphs into a hilarious high-stakes dinner. As the date unfolds in real time, the two quickly find they’re not alone. In a delightful twist, Casey and Aaron’s inner critics take on a life of their own as employees and other patrons transform into supportive best friends, manipulative exes, protective parents—even a deceased ‘bubbie’—who sing and dance them through ice-breakers, appetizers and potential conversational land mines, meanwhile providing advice that may, or definitely will not, be helpful. Can they turn just another first and last date into something special before the check arrives? Visit The J for more info: jccstl.com/arts-ideas.
earth city
The Rams NFL franchise in 2016 returned to Los Angeles from St. Louis after 21 seasons here with one Super Bowl championship. Owner Stan Kroenke paid most of a $790-million settlement to the city and county as a result of the team’s departure. But bickering across jurisdictions has kept the disposition of the massive sum in limbo here. And in the news category of ‘stuff you’re just not going to believe,’ the Rams’ ownership thinks Kroenke et al. are entitled to the team’s former practice facility in Earth City for $1, which makes absolutely no sense. The Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority has filed a lawsuit to fight the team’s ridiculous offer, which was based on language in the lease agreement made when the Rams moved east to St. Louis in 1995. The facility, recently appraised at a little over $24 million, has essentially doubled in value since then. Maybe cranky Kroenke will next try to claim destitution, because after having to shell out $571 million, with the other 31 NFL teams on the hook for the rest, he could argue that $1 is the best he can do because his pockets just aren’t that deep anymore. Still, it’s worthy of noting: What in the world would a team from the left coast do with a practice facility here, smack in the middle of the Great Flyover?
downtown
The hotel completed in 1986 as the Adam’s Mark at 315 Chestnut St., with its commanding view of the Gateway Arch, was renovated and rebranded for $62 million in 2009 as the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at The Arch. The Adam’s Mark was facing a federal lawsuit by the Department of Justice alleging discriminatory practices. The 910-room hotel is in trouble again, this time financial straits. It’s only money, right? Well, the hotel’s parent company is seeking ways to restructure its debt, as a $93 million loan comes due the first week of November. The paradigm shift that was the pandemic knocked the bottom out of the hospitality market in general, and business at the Hyatt has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. “Imminent default” are hard words for anyone to face, whether on a personal or professional level, and the hotel’s owner is scrambling for solutions. The hotel’s sheer size is a hindrance, industry experts note, pointing out that much smaller properties are also having difficulty with the changes in how business has been conducted since the pandemic shut things down in spring 2020. From windows on the hotel’s north side, guests can see the office building at 200 N. Broadway, but probably don’t realize that after 70 years downtown, PR giant FleishmanHillard is moving its world headquarters next spring from several floors there to Clayton.
notable neighbors
ballwin
The best marriages are made in the food-service industry, said probably no one ever. But it’s worked like a charm for Denise and Bob Biribin, who met at the International House of Pancakes in North County where they were working in the 1970s. “I was the cook; she was the server,” says Bob, who was sitting next to his wife of 38 years in the front dining room of The Wolf Café, which they’ve owned and operated for 13 years. They went to different high schools, both named McCluer; McCluer North for him, McCluer for her. Their career encompasses Pantera’s Pizza and so many other dining and drinking establishments throughout the metro, including on Main Street in old St. Charles. When we met, it was a Monday at 10 a.m., and the joint was subdued, when Tuesday through Saturday it normally is hopping with breakfast customers and coffee fiends who drop in for a jolt of java and may stay for conversation—while keeping their laptops closed. As one of The Wolf’s many friendly signs reads: “We Do Not Have WiFi… Talk to Each Other.” This ain’t no Starbucks, Denise elaborates, but not so ungrammatically. At any time of day, it’s a place to meet and greet, whether Tuesday nights at open-mic night or downstairs in the spacious taproom where there are 16 taps a-flowing: Four for wine, four for cocktails and eight for beer. Down here is where The Wolf’s second annual holiday pop-up, BLING, will ring in the season starting Dec. 1, for which reservations will be taken on Eventbrite starting Nov. 1. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the food pantry Circle of Concern, and the Biribins expect the event to sell out. There’ll be lights galore and Christmas trees everywhere, including a late-1950s/early-1960s pink metallic ‘Mitch Miller’ tree—our words; your enterprising reporter grew up in that era. ‘Festive’ isn’t quite the word for it: “It’ll look like Christmas threw up in here,” quips Bob. But wait just a doggone minute: Wine on tap? Some wine aficionados might turn up their noses at something so outré, but for the Biribins, it’s just one less bottle to recycle. “Sustainability is our thing,” Bob points out. A hand-lettered sign clarifies this environmental initiative: The Wolf recycles or composts 97% of its waste (printed on the coffee cups is a whimsical cartoon character hugging a tree). The average restaurant annually produces 50 tons of garbage. By comparison, The Wolf may throw away only 5,000 pounds. The eatery and music venue used to be open seven days a week, the bane of existence for anyone in the service industry. But now, it’s closed Sunday and Monday: “That was a gift of Covid,” Denise recalls. Every employer was facing staffing challenges at the time. The Wolf is at 15480 Clayton Road, just west of Kehrs Mill. For more about this unique neighborhood destination—“Where Earth and Community Unite”—visit thewolfstl.com.
