ST. LOUIS — Several local restaurants closed this year in St. Louis, and many attributed their decision to shut their doors to inflation and the changing economy.
As 2022 comes to a close, 5 On Your Side has compiled a list of businesses St. Louisans have said "goodbye" to this year.
Ahne’s Bakery
Family-owned for nearly 50 years, the bakery in Waterloo, Illinois, closed until further notice after a fire in late September.
In a Facebook post, Ahne's Bakery said no one was inside the building when the fire occurred and no injuries were reported. Love and support from the community came in through Facebook with several shares, comments and reactions on each post the bakery made about the fire.
Restoration of Ahne’s Bakery was expected to take at least six months, according to its Facebook page. In a recent update, the bakery said demolition had been completed and the remodel had just begun.
Café Natasha
After nearly 40 years, a fixture on South Grand closed its doors after Café Natasha owner Hamishe Bahrami retired in early 2022.
Hamishe and her late husband, Behshid Bahrami, opened The Little Kitchen restaurant in 1983 in downtown St. Louis. The cafeteria catered to the American cuisine.
But the couple was passionate about wanting to showcase traditional Persian food, so after a decade downtown, they moved to the Delmar Loop and reopened as Café Natasha. They moved to South Grand in 2001, according to the restaurant’s website.
For more 2022 Year in Review roundups from 5 On Your Side, click here.
Cannoli’s
Cannoli’s Italian restaurant in Florissant closed its doors in March after 28 years in business. The restaurant, known for serving classic Italian dishes, opened in 1994 and was family-run.
In a video posted to its Facebook page, the restaurant said due to financial pressures following the pandemic, it was in the best interest of the family and the future of its business not to resign its lease at 462 N. Highway 67.
Defiant Cookie Dough Company
The Chesterfield-based Defiant Cookie Dough Company permanently closed in late November. The cookie dough and desserts bakery also suspended its wholesale operations, which distribute its cookie doughs to grocery stores in and around the state.
The company was founded in 2017 as Half Baked Cookie Dough Company but rebranded in early 2020 due to a cease and desist.
The company’s founder and owner Jennifer Naslund said higher operating costs, labor shortages and changing consumer trends were reasons contributing to the closure.
Happy Joe’s Pizza & Ice Cream
The Iowa-based pizza chain closed its south St. Louis County location in August. The reasoning for the closure of the restaurant at 7918 Watson Road was not given.
Grbic Restaurant
The Bosnian restaurant, which first opened in St. Louis' Dutchtown neighborhood in 2002, closed its doors for good in August.
Grbic Restaurant, owned and operated by Sulejman and Ermina Grbic, shuttered the restaurant side of the business in late August and planned to convert that portion of the building into a private event space.
The Grbic family has operated a separate special event business since 2007. The business includes a banquet hall at 4071 Keokuk St.
Mama Toscano’s
A longtime purveyor of St. Louis' toasted ravioli called it quits in August.
Mama Toscano's operated on The Hill at Macklind and Bischoff avenues for decades. According to a 1996 St. Louis Post-Dispatch article, Kate Toscano started selling raviolis in the building 44 years prior. She died in 2001.
Matthew Fuller and Brittany Abernathy, the husband-and-wife duo behind STL Toasted, secured a lease for the former home of Mama Toscano’s at 2201 Macklind Ave. and said they plan to use the new location as production space for the time being while retaining their business’ City Foundry STL location.
Pi Pizzeria + Rico Mexican
Pi Pizzeria + Rico Mexican in Kirkwood, at 10312 Manchester Road, closed in August. In addition to Pi's deep-dish pizza, the restaurant served burritos, quesadillas, fajitas and other Mexican fare.
Pi in 2018 closed a nearby Kirkwood location before finding the 10312 Manchester space. It has also closed locations downtown, in The Loop and Chesterfield, according to its website, which now lists only a location in the Central West End.
Pho Grand
A beloved Vietnamese restaurant on South Grand Boulevard closed in June after 33 years in business.
After working 12 hours a day, six days a week, for more than three decades, Pho Grand co-owner Hang "Tami" Trinh decided it was time for a change.
"You know every book has an ending," Trinh said. "Every story has an ending, so this is the final chapter for Pho Grand, but it’s the next chapter for my life…this is not goodbye, it’s see you later. We might come back."
Rise Coffee House
Since 2013, Rise Coffee House offered specialized coffee drinks, breakfast and lunch in St. Louis' Grove neighborhood. The shop closed its doors for good in June.
"There are so many layers to this decision. But the simplest answer is, it is time," the business said on its Facebook page on June 17. "We could wax on about the long-term impact of the pandemic, rising food prices, staffing, etcetera. But the long and the short of it is that running a restaurant has become unsustainable for us."
Sugaree Baking Company
After 27 years, co-owners Pat Rutherford-Pettine and her husband, Jimmy, are selling Sugaree Baking Company in St. Louis' Dogtown neighborhood.
Like many locally owned businesses, the pandemic and staffing shortages took a toll on the bakery. The couple said the shop will close its doors to the public on Dec. 30.
"Our bodies are tired. I need to see my daughter more often," Rutherford-Pettine told 5 On Your Side.
The bakery will carry its wholesale operations to its partners into next year until the business sells.
Sugarfire 618
Owners of the Sugarfire barbecue restaurant in Edwardsville, referred to as Sugarfire 618, said they will be closing its doors at the end of 2022.
The restaurant, located at 2323 Plum St., will be replaced with a new concept called Brick + Bramble. The concept is designed to complement patio neighbor Global Brew – also run by Sugarfire's owners – as a beverage-first, food-second establishment.
Sweetie Pie’s
Sweetie Pie's, the famous St. Louis restaurant at the center of reality TV show "Welcome to Sweetie Pie's" on the Oprah Winfrey Network, closed its remaining Upper Crust location on Delmar Boulevard in September.
The closing announcement came less than a week after the owner's son was found guilty of a murder-for-hire plot against her grandson.
Vin De Set
Vin De Set, a French restaurant near Lafayette Square, closed indefinitely after an early morning fire in September.
Hamilton Hospitality, the company that owns and operates Vin de Set and other venues in the building, said Vin de Set was heavily damaged in the fire.
The company said any updates regarding a reopening would come via its social media.
Walnut Grill
Walnut Grill, a Pittsburgh-based restaurant chain, in November shuttered its Ellisville location in west St. Louis County.
The Ellisville store, which opened in 2014, was the chain's entry into the St. Louis market. Walnut Grill's other local stores are in Chesterfield Valley, Sunset Hills and O'Fallon, Missouri.
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