sunset hills
Panera is making lots of dough making dough these days. Recently sold to JAB Holding Co., a Luxembourg-based private equity firm, for $7.5 billion, the deal is not too shabby for an StL company that had its modest beginnings in 1987 with a single St. Louis Bread Co. in Kirkwood. Yes, the continent has sort of invaded us again, as in 2008 when InBev, a Belgian conglomerate, gulped down Anheuser-Busch in a hostile takeover that really took the air out of the metro for a while. It was like the Rams had relocated … oops, rewind … it was like the Redbirds had suddenly moved to Flushing, New York, where baseball is played by pond scum. What is it with these interlopers from itty-bitty European countries, anyhow? Do they even have much of an army? Or does Rex Tillerson, Trump’s secretary of state, keep demanding they cough up more euros for NATO, and that’s really ticking them off? Across the pond, are they just that much into yeast? Enough questions. Good news: Panera’s HQ isn’t moving from Watson Road in Sunset Hills, company officials have said, and reportedly the buyer isn’t a Type A investor, so if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Whew … we can still get broccoli cheese soup in a bread bowl. And, if we so choose, we can get it for nothing at the Cares Community Cafe in the St. Louis Bread Co. locale in Clayton. We fervently hope the ‘pay what you can’ concept continues here, as it has since May 2010. Another nonprofit Panera Cares outlet operates in Boston; three others—Chicago, Portland, Oregon, and Dearborn, Michigan—have closed in the past few years. But the Clayton location is doing just fine, thank you, says manager Brooke Porter … who opened the store seven years ago and has been there for the mostly good and a few not-so-good days. A good day is when a prisoner is released from the county jail and has his first outside meal here, and a not-so-good day is when a gaggle of well-fed high school kids takes advantage and chows down for free. But most people who visit or work in Clayton are generous to a fault, Porter says, and they pay it forward. That is, they pay full price and donate money above and beyond the meal cost for their fellows who may be hungry.
st. louis
Here’s some news from a large manufacturer of alcoholic beverages, and not the one off Pestalozzi Street that brews a few barrels of beer every now and then … dang, name’s right on the tip of my tongue. (It’ll come back to me.) Meanwhile, Luxco, maker of spirits distributed internationally, is readying itself to do shots with the big booze boys. Based in St. Louis, the company is putting the finishing touches on a distillery in the mountains of Mexico near a supply of the fine agave used to make tequila. Lots of tequila. By midsummer, when production is slated to begin, the plant will be equipped to cook 60 tons of agave in pot stills. That’s somewhat more agave than the average St. Louisan is likely to find in the refrigerator. But the Weber Blue Agave variety is cultivated in the high country near the city of Arandas, in the state of Jalisco. DGL Destiladores (Destiladora González Luxco) is nearing completion on 8 acres and will continue to make the 100-percent agave tequila according to a González family recipe that has been handed down for 150 years. The company’s El Mayor and Exotica tequila brands have won accolades at international competitions, notably the 2017 Global Tequila Master awards, the International Wine and Spirits Competition, and the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, where they were awarded double gold.
northwoods
It should go without saying—but unfortunately it never does—that young women are at a disadvantage in all phases of life, especially in impoverished communities. Girls Inc. is working hard to change that. Girls Inc. of St. Louis is a beneficiary of a three-year, $400,000 grant, a portion of the first round of funding by the S.D. Bechtel Jr. Foundation to continue the nonprofit’s efforts to inspire girls ‘to be strong, smart and bold.’ Intent on helping support worthy organizations in efforts to make ‘transformational’ changes in the lives of youth, the foundation will eventually release $10 million nationally over three years. Over the next two years, local officials will redouble efforts to share the Girls Inc. experience in more grades at more schools and other sites. Through direct service and advocacy, Girls Inc. aims to equip girls with the confidence and skills to surmount gender, social and economic barriers on their journey to become educated, healthy and independent. As a member of the first grant class, national officials say, the St. Louis affiliate (based in Northwoods) leads the network in creating and sharing innovative practices that can be replicated and have a cascading effect much greater than the monetary investment.
clayton
Sad news … Gershman Mortgage has closed its office at 7 N. Bemiston Ave. But weep not for Clayton, for there’s happy news for Chesterfield! The mortgage company, founded here in 1953, has moved its HQ to 16253 Swingley Ridge Road. The new office space of more than 24,000 square feet will allow the company more room to grow. More than 100 employees made the move when the firm vacated its former digs, which, at 16,000 square feet, were probably starting to get a little cramped. Don’t want to make the trek out west to conduct business with Gershman? The company will continue to maintain its Clayton presence with its office at 7801 Forsyth Blvd.
chesterfield
Since time immemorial, fish stories have been the hallmark of the true angler … ‘the one that got away was this big!’ … and what better time than as a kid to learn that, at least in this pastime, stretching the truth is condoned? Well, kids ages 5 to 15 can try their luck and test their veracity on Saturday, May 13, at the lake in Chesterfield’s Central Park during the city’s third annual fishing derby. It’s free! And that’s no fish story, either. Limited to the first 100 entrants, the derby runs from 9 to 11 a.m., and fishing licenses are not required. So, relax. Fishing is more of a Zen practice than, say, motorcycle maintenance. (Stressing out, yelling and throwing objects into bodies of water is reserved for the other prime source of fish stories: golf.) There will be some fishing gear available, but not much, so participants are encouraged to bring their own poles, tackle and bait, if at all possible. It is important to note that there will be no fish fry to follow, since Lent is over. So, whether bluegill, bass or catfish, all fish stupid enough to get caught will be thrown back, only to be caught and thrown back another day. (You’d think they’d learn, after a billion or so years on the planet.) Prizes will be awarded in a variety of contests—in two age groups: 5 to 10 and 11 to 15—and participants must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. The lake is located in the park at 16365 Lydia Hill Lane. Since space is limited, pre-registration by phone or online is recommended. Check-in on derby day is from 8 to 9 a.m. on the stage at Chesterfield Amphitheater at 631 Veterans Place Drive. Hey, kids! Smartphones not required—there’s no app for this.
