Wade and Lois DeWoskin owned Port St. Louis from 1960 to 1992. I visited with their son Tom and his wife Karen at their home in the Central West End, surrounded by relics from their parents’ restaurant.

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Legend has it that the Mother In Law House, at 500 South Main Street in St. Charles, was built in 1860, with one side for the owner and his wife, and the other side for his mother-in-law. But that was legend.

Donna Hafer purchased the Mother In Law House in 1981. I visited with Donna at her home in St. Charles in January of 2019. Along with her son, Bob, she told me the story of how she came to St. Charles from a small town in Illinois and fell in love with Main Street.

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Soulard's Restaurant and Bar was opened at the corner of Seventh and Soulard for almost forty years. Dan Badock told the story of his family’s restaurant over coffee in April of 2023.

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In 1978, Bob Mepham bought a small outdoor fish stand in the University City Loop. He called his new business Bob's Seafood.

In 2005, Bob bought a building on Olive, just east of I-170, and moved Bob's Seafood to the western outskirts of University City. But University City forced Bob to close his doors in 2022.

I interviewed Bob Mepham about 2 weeks later.

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Giovanni’s on the Hill was the lifeblood of Giovanni Gabriele for almost 44 years. In 2021, Carmelo Gabriele recounted his father’s story, with an assist from his 78-year-old mother, Fina Manno Gabriele.

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In 1999, Leon Bierbaum opened a French bistro on Laclede in the Central West End. He called his bistro Chez Leon.

Leon Bierbaum isn’t around to tell the Chez Leon story – he died in 2016. But Haris Zukanovic started working at Chez Leon on day one, and was there for 10 years.

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Bryan Young spent almost 20 years at Balaban’s, working his way from assistant waiter to manager. He also ran a successful catering business for many years.

I interviewed Bryan at his home in October of 2024. At age 70, he’s still larger than life, with his deep melodic voice and booming laugh

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Restaurateur Danny Meyer is firmly planted in New York City, with eateries like the Union Square Café, Gramercy Tavern and Shake Shack. But Danny’s roots stretch across the country to St. Louis, where he grew up exploring many of our city’s Lost Tables.

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