Collectively, these local family businesses have been serving the St. Louis community for nearly 300 years. And all of them agree: being local and family-run makes the experience much more meaningful. Overtime, customers aren’t just customers, they are friends.
kohn’s kosher
By the time he was 11 years old, Lenny Kohn, owner of Kohn’s Kosher, knew how to cut chickens, stock shelves and work a cash register. “I checked people out standing on a milk crate,” he remembers. His parents, Simon and Bobbi, were Holocaust survivors who came to the U.S. in 1948. They opened Simon Kohn’s Kosher Deli in University City in 1963 (pictured above).
Although Lenny and his sister Rosemary took time away to go to college, they returned to the family business and have never looked back. “There’s a whole lot of joy and a whole lot of aggravation keeping the family name alive,” Kohn says. “But after so many years, people have come to respect it, both locally and across the country.” The deli moved to Creve Coeur in 1974 and continues to be the only independent kosher butcher in the St. Louis area, Kohn notes.
berkshire hathaway homeservices alliance real estate
In the early days, a real estate transaction that now takesa matter of moments could take days. “Forty years ago,everything had to be hand-delivered, or sent by mail,” says Kevin Goffstein, co-owner and president of BHHS Alliance Real Estate. It’s easy to see how he came to the business. His great-grandfather worked as a real estate agent in downtown St. Louis. Later, Goffstein’s grandfather, Leon, opened Goffstein Real Estate Management in University City. That company eventually became Century 21 Goffstein Realty, and Kevin’s parents took over. “I spent my childhood in that office,” he says. “I grew up around realtors.”
In the 40 years since, Goffstein and his mother, Andrea Lawrence—BHHS Alliance CEO and co-owner—have brought their expertise to the St. Louis community. In the ‘90s, they changed brands to Prudential Real Estate, which eventually was taken over by the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices brand. The company now has seven offices in four counties and is the largest privately owned real estate brokerage firm in the area, with about 450 agents. Even though Lawrence says technology has changed the face of real estate, she notes one thing hasn’t changed. “Building relationships is as important today as ever,” she says.
schrader funeral home & crematory
When Schrader Funeral Home first opened its doors in 1868, Ballwin was a sleepy little town. The building wasn’t big and didn’t need to be. At the time, most funerals took place in homes, and funeral parlors didn’t have to house the state rooms and chapels they do today. Now, 149 years later, Schrader has two locations—one a block from its original spot, another in Eureka. Vice president Dennis Goethe says it’s the oldest family-run funeral business in St. Louis. His wife, Peggy, is the fifth generation of Schraders to work there, and her uncle, Harold ‘Skip’ Schrader, 90, still keeps an eye on the books. Traditionally, funeral homes were almost always in the neighborhood, Schrader says. “When you’re a family funeral business, as opposed to a corporate funeral home, your focus is on serving friends and neighbors,” he says. “We’re about community. We support the softball team just as well as the local economy.” And even though the St. Louis area—and Ballwin— are now much larger, he says they still have a ‘neighborhoody flavor.’ “Most families we serve are in an 8-mile radius,” he says.
the silver lady
Although Lori Shifter had been selling jewelry to friends at ‘Tupperware-like’ events, she officially started her business 31 years ago from an 8-foot-long table at The Market in The Loop. She had used her savings to travel to Mexico, where she mostly purchased unique silver pieces. “I inherited a good eye for style and design from my mother, and I had a sense for good quality,” Shifter says. From there, she moved to what she calls a “real space with a real door,” also in the market. “It amounted to 158 square feet, but it was packed with stuff,” she recalls.
Today, Shifter co-owns the Silver Lady with husband Jeff Weintrop, who joined the business after they got married 15 years ago. They now have stores in The Loop, the Central West End and Maplewood, and have broadened their scope to include semi-precious stones. “When you’ve been around this long, you really get to know your customers,” Shifter says. “And there’s something very special about helping people buy a wedding band they will wear for the rest of their lives.”
