ST. LOUIS — One of the oldest restaurants in St. Louis is closing its doors.
Al’s Cafe has been around for more than 100 years in St. Louis’ Kosciusko neighborhood and now there’s a ‘for sale’ sign hanging up outside.
The restaurant is known for its breakfast and lunch.
Owner Al Beczkala started working there by helping his father back in 1962 while he was still in high school.
Beczkala is the fourth-generation owner.
“It goes back a long time,” he said.
Unfortunately, that’ll come to an end on Friday.
“My knees are going bad and I just can’t do it anymore and my wife wanted me to stay home,” Beczkala said.
The Kosciusko neighborhood is mostly non-residential. Many of the customers throughout the years were blue-collar workers. Employees from Hager Companies, Schaeffer Manufacturing and other businesses in the area became regulars at Al’s Cafe.
Beczkala got emotional during an interview with 5 On Your Side photojournalist Joe Young.
“Going to miss all the people that I’ve knew and seen for a long time,” Beczkala said, holding back tears. “If my knees weren’t bad, we’d probably still go through it,” he said.
Al’s Cafe is located at 2500 Dekalb Street and Feb. 28 will be its last day.